Rural Brain Drain: A Quantitative Study of the Potential Impact on the Youth in Rural Aroostook County

The present research explores the phenomenon commonly referred to as rural brain drain and whether it occurs in rural, Aroostook County Maine. The aim of the study also included an examination of how family, friends, community, school counselors, teachers, social media and early college courses are impacting student decisions post-high school graduation

Bringing researchers and resources together : the Atiku northern and arctic studies portal

The goal of this presentation is to introduce a new bilingual information portal for Northern Studies in Quebec, Canada, and describe the challenges and opportunities that arose from the creation of this multidisciplinary, multi-institution web portal. This project has brought together not only the library resources of the three institutions supporting Northern Studies but also the librarians who support these diverse and interdisciplinary researchers across Quebec. Collaboration between the members of the Institut nordique du Quebec (INQ)--a research centre bringing together more than 150 researchers from three universities (Institut national de recherche scientifique, Université Laval, McGill University), and representatives from Indigenous groups and the public and private sectors--led to the creation of this project. The portal was created to facilitate collaboration between INQ members and for anyonen interested in Northern Studies by bringing together multidisciplinary content from a variety of sources and modes of access (paid and open). It reflects a transdisciplinary approach that is increasingly required in Northern Studies, an approach that seeks to harness the resources and expertise associated with several different fields of study in order to understand a complex issue. The problem of access for non-university users will be addressed, particularly for Indigenous communities and the Quebec government. The librarians supporting Northern Studies at these three universities had not previously worked together, and the project allowed for a new collaboration between libraries and librarians. The flexible way in which the project has been developed allows for new institutions and librarians to join.publishedVersio

Maternal lipid profile differs by gestational diabetes physiologic subtype

Aim To characterize lipid profiles in women with different gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) physiologic subtypes. Methods We measured seven lipid markers (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), ApoA, ApoB) in fasting plasma collected in a prospective cohort of 805 pregnant women during second trimester. We estimated insulin sensitivity and secretion using oral glucose tolerance test-based validated indices. We categorized GDM physiologic subtypes by insulin sensitivity and secretion defects defined as values below the 25th percentile among women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), as previously established. We compared lipid markers across NGT and GDM subtypes. We explored associations between lipid markers and newborn anthropometry in the overall group and stratified by glucose tolerance status. Results Among 805 women, 67 (8.3%) developed GDM. Women with GDM had higher body mass index (BMI; 29.3 vs. 26.6 kg/m2), while ethnicity (97.3% vs. 97.0% European ancestry) and age (28 vs. 29 years) were similar. In comparison to women with NGT, women with GDM characterized by a predominant insulin sensitivity defect had significantly higher triglycerides (2.20 vs. 1.82, P = 0.002), lower HDL (1.64 vs. 1.90, P = 0.01) and higher NEFA (0.34 vs. 0.24, P < 0.0001). GDM women with a predominant insulin secretion defect differed from women with NGT with respect to NEFA (0.32 vs. 0.24, P = 0.003) while other lipid markers were similar. These associations remained significant after adjusting for maternal age and BMI. Greater maternal levels of NEFA were associated with higher birth weight z-scores in women with an insulin secretion defect (BMI-adjusted r = 0.58, P = 0.01). We did not find significant associations between other lipid markers and newborn anthropometry in other groups. Conclusion Women with GDM have distinct lipid profiles based on their GDM physiologic subtype which may not be apparent when investigating GDM as a single group

Intended Mathematics Curriculum as Represented in State-Level Curriculum Standards: Consensus or Confusion?

Full Report published by: Information Age Publishers. http://www.infoagepub.comThis report represents the first detailed analysis of the grade placement of particular learning goals across all state-level curriculum documents published and current as of May 2005. The report documents the current situation regarding grade-level mathematics curriculum specification in the U.S. and highlights a general lack of consensus across states. As states continue to work to improve learning opportunities for all students, we hope this report will serve as a useful summary to inform future curriculum decisions.This report is based on the work of the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum, supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0333879. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

Συμπληρωματικά περί Μακεδόνων κλεφτών και αρματολών

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Interdomain Interactions Support Interdomain Communication in Human Pin1

Pin1 is an essential mitotic regulator consisting of a peptidyl–prolyl isomerase (PPIase) domain flexibly tethered to a smaller Trp–Trp (WW) binding domain. Communication between these domains is important for Pin1 in vivo activity; however, the atomic basis for this communication has remained elusive. Our previous nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of Pin1 functional dynamics suggested that weak interdomain contacts within Pin1 enable allosteric communication between the domain interface and the distal active site of the PPIase domain., A necessary condition for this hypothesis is that the intrinsic properties of the PPIase domain should be sensitive to interdomain contact. Here, we test this sensitivity by generating a Pin1 mutant, I28A, which weakens the wild-type interdomain contact while maintaining the overall folds of the two domains. Using NMR, we show that I28A leads to altered substrate binding affinity and isomerase activity. Moreover, I28A causes long-range perturbations to conformational flexibility in both domains, for both the apo and substrate-complexed states of the protein. These results show that the distribution of conformations sampled by the PPIase domain is sensitive to interdomain contact and strengthen the hypothesis that such contact supports interdomain allosteric communication in Pin1. Other modular systems may exploit interdomain interactions in a similar manner

Impact of Acute Circuit Training on Irisin in Younger and Older Overweight Adults

Studies show aerobic exercise increases irisin and leads to health benefits. The impact of circuit training (CT) on irisin in overweight younger and older adults is unknown. The objectives were to determine whether, during an acute bout of CT, changes in irisin differed between overweight younger and older adults, and if irisin is associated with body composition, fitness level, or muscle strength. Inactive, overweight adults aged between 19-35 (25.9 5.0; n=15) and 60-75 years old (67.7 4.1; n=14) participated in this study. The primary exposure variable was an acute bout of CT (12-15 repetitions; 65-70% of 1-repetition maximum; 3 loops). The primary outcome measure was the concentration of irisin determined by ELISA before, during, and after exercise. Repeated measures analyses showed no effect of time on irisin levels during acute CT, and no interaction effect between age and time (p >0.05). No associations were observed between changes in irisin and body composition, fitness, or strength (p >0.05). In conclusion, acute CT doesn’t increase irisin in overweight individuals, nor is irisin associated with the measured outcomes. Further studies are needed to elucidate the release of irisin by different types of exercise across the lifespan. NCT03715088 NOVELTY: • Younger and older adults show a similar irisin response to an acute bout of circuit training. • Irisin response is not associated with measures of body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, nor muscle strength.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Implementation of California COVIDNet - a multi-sector collaboration for statewide SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance.

INTRODUCTION: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic represented a formidable scientific and technological challenge to public health due to its rapid spread and evolution. To meet these challenges and to characterize the virus over time, the State of California established the California SARS-CoV-2 Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) Initiative, or California COVIDNet. This initiative constituted an unprecedented multi-sector collaborative effort to achieve large-scale genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 across California to monitor the spread of variants within the state, to detect new and emerging variants, and to characterize outbreaks in congregate, workplace, and other settings. METHODS: California COVIDNet consists of 50 laboratory partners that include public health laboratories, private clinical diagnostic laboratories, and academic sequencing facilities as well as expert advisors, scientists, consultants, and contractors. Data management, sample sourcing and processing, and computational infrastructure were major challenges that had to be resolved in the midst of the pandemic chaos in order to conduct SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance. Data management, storage, and analytics needs were addressed with both conventional database applications and newer cloud-based data solutions, which also fulfilled computational requirements. RESULTS: Representative and randomly selected samples were sourced from state-sponsored community testing sites. Since March of 2021, California COVIDNet partners have contributed more than 450,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes sequenced from remnant samples from both molecular and antigen tests. Combined with genomes from CDC-contracted WGS labs, there are currently nearly 800,000 genomes from all 61 local health jurisdictions (LHJs) in California in the COVIDNet sequence database. More than 5% of all reported positive tests in the state have been sequenced, with similar rates of sequencing across 5 major geographic regions in the state. DISCUSSION: Implementation of California COVIDNet revealed challenges and limitations in the public health system. These were overcome by engaging in novel partnerships that established a successful genomic surveillance program which provided valuable data to inform the COVID-19 public health response in California. Significantly, California COVIDNet has provided a foundational data framework and computational infrastructure needed to respond to future public health crises

Mutant huntingtin impairs immune cell migration in Huntington disease

In Huntington disease (HD), immune cells are activated before symptoms arise; however, it is unclear how the expression of mutant huntingtin (htt) compromises the normal functions of immune cells. Here we report that primary microglia from early postnatal HD mice were profoundly impaired in their migration to chemotactic stimuli, and expression of a mutant htt fragment in microglial cell lines was sufficient to reproduce these deficits. Microglia expressing mutant htt had a retarded response to a laser-induced brain injury in vivo. Leukocyte recruitment was defective upon induction of peritonitis in HD mice at early disease stages and was normalized upon genetic deletion of mutant htt in immune cells. Migration was also strongly impaired in peripheral immune cells from pre-manifest human HD patients. Defective actin remodeling in immune cells expressing mutant htt likely contributed to their migration deficit. Our results suggest that these functional changes may contribute to immune dysfunction and neurodegeneration in HD, and may have implications for other polyglutamine expansion diseases in which mutant proteins are ubiquitously expressed