A multi-decade record of high quality fCO2 data in version 3 of the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT)

The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) is a synthesis of quality-controlled fCO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) values for the global surface oceans and coastal seas with regular updates. Version 3 of SOCAT has 14.7 million fCO2 values from 3646 data sets covering the years 1957 to 2014. This latest version has an additional 4.6 million fCO2 values relative to version 2 and extends the record from 2011 to 2014. Version 3 also significantly increases the data availability for 2005 to 2013. SOCAT has an average of approximately 1.2 million surface water fCO2 values per year for the years 2006 to 2012. Quality and documentation of the data has improved. A new feature is the data set quality control (QC) flag of E for data from alternative sensors and platforms. The accuracy of surface water fCO2 has been defined for all data set QC flags. Automated range checking has been carried out for all data sets during their upload into SOCAT. The upgrade of the interactive Data Set Viewer (previously known as the Cruise Data Viewer) allows better interrogation of the SOCAT data collection and rapid creation of high-quality figures for scientific presentations. Automated data upload has been launched for version 4 and will enable more frequent SOCAT releases in the future. High-profile scientific applications of SOCAT include quantification of the ocean sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and its long-term variation, detection of ocean acidification, as well as evaluation of coupled-climate and ocean-only biogeochemical models. Users of SOCAT data products are urged to acknowledge the contribution of data providers, as stated in the SOCAT Fair Data Use Statement. This ESSD (Earth System Science Data) “living data” publication documents the methods and data sets used for the assembly of this new version of the SOCAT data collection and compares these with those used for earlier versions of the data collection (Pfeil et al., 2013; Sabine et al., 2013; Bakker et al., 2014). Individual data set files, included in the synthesis product, can be downloaded here: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.849770. The gridded products are available here: doi:10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.SOCAT_V3_GRID

Injectable Materials for the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure: The Promise of Decellularized Matrices

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death, suggesting that new therapies are needed to treat the progression of heart failure post-myocardial infarction. As cardiac tissue has a limited ability to regenerate itself, experimental biomaterial therapies have focused on the replacement of necrotic cardiomyocytes and repair of the damaged extracellular matrix. While acellular and cellular cardiac patches are applied surgically to the epicardial surface of the heart, injectable materials offer the prospective advantage of minimally invasive delivery directly into the myocardium to either replace the damaged extracellular matrix or to act as a scaffold for cell delivery. Cardiac-specific decellularized matrices offer the further advantage of being biomimetic of the native biochemical and structural matrix composition, as well as the potential to be autologous therapies. This review will focus on the requirements of an ideal scaffold for catheter-based delivery as well as highlight the promise of decellularized matrices as injectable materials for cardiac repair

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Repairing the Teacher Pipeline for People of Color: Three Essays on Minority Teacher Scholarships

Despite near consensus agreement about the importance of increasing the presence of teachers of color in schools, there is limited research on how public policy can solve this problem. Drawing on federal and one university’s teacher education data, this dissertation addresses whether a Minority Teacher Scholarship (MTS) can alter the labor supply of teachers of color. The first essay evaluates whether five states implementing MTS programs increase the proportion of candidates of color earning teacher education bachelor’s degrees. Using event study and difference-in-differences frameworks, I find that implementing states stabilized the share of Black candidates relative to non-implementing states, a result driven by changes in private institutions and states with the greatest financial value awards. In the second essay, I estimate whether teacher candidates of color in the same program are more likely to complete a degree if receiving MTS aid. Using linear probability and propensity score matching models, I find MTS receipt associated positively with bachelor’s and master’s degree completion for individuals who were observably similar on individual characteristics. The third essay investigates whether teacher candidates of color in the same program university respond MTS awards differentially in the labor market. Using linear probability and discrete-time survival analysis models, I find that MTS receipt associated positively with public school teaching employment within two years of graduation, and negatively with exiting teaching in a public school for individuals of color from the same program. The three studies provide suggestive evidence that MTS programs benefit individuals and the largest group of people of color in states implementing MTS programs

Repairing the Teacher Pipeline for People of Color: Three Essays on Minority Teacher Scholarships

Despite near consensus agreement about the importance of increasing the presence of teachers of color in schools, there is limited research on how public policy can solve this problem. Drawing on federal and one university’s teacher education data, this dissertation addresses whether a Minority Teacher Scholarship (MTS) can alter the labor supply of teachers of color. The first essay evaluates whether five states implementing MTS programs increase the proportion of candidates of color earning teacher education bachelor’s degrees. Using event study and difference-in-differences frameworks, I find that implementing states stabilized the share of Black candidates relative to non-implementing states, a result driven by changes in private institutions and states with the greatest financial value awards. In the second essay, I estimate whether teacher candidates of color in the same program are more likely to complete a degree if receiving MTS aid. Using linear probability and propensity score matching models, I find MTS receipt associated positively with bachelor’s and master’s degree completion for individuals who were observably similar on individual characteristics. The third essay investigates whether teacher candidates of color in the same program university respond MTS awards differentially in the labor market. Using linear probability and discrete-time survival analysis models, I find that MTS receipt associated positively with public school teaching employment within two years of graduation, and negatively with exiting teaching in a public school for individuals of color from the same program. The three studies provide suggestive evidence that MTS programs benefit individuals and the largest group of people of color in states implementing MTS programs

Community-based methods for exploring climate impacts and responses in gender and socially inclusive rural WASH

This record includes an extended abstract and MP4 presentation. Presented at the 42nd WEDC International Conference