Feasibility of Using Remotely Sensed Data to Aid in Long-Term Monitoring of Biodiversity

Remote sensing is defined as making observations of an event or phenomena without physically sampling it. Typically this is done with instruments and sensors mounted on anything from poles extended over a cornfield,to airplanes,to satellites orbiting the Earth The sensors have characteristics that allow them to detect and record information regarding the emission and reflectance of electromagnetic energy from a surface or object. That information can then be represented visually on a screen or paper map or used in data analysis to inform decision-making

Drug and alcohol trajectories among adults with schizophrenia: Data from the CATIE study

The primary aim is to describe drug and alcohol trajectories in adults with schizophrenia

Jail-to-community treatment continuum for adults with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Adults with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders (CODs) are overrepresented in jails. In-custody barriers to treatment, including a lack of evidence-based treatment options and the often short periods of incarceration, and limited communication between jails and community-based treatment agencies that can hinder immediate enrollment into community care once released have contributed to a cycle of limited treatment engagement, unaddressed criminogenic risks, and (re)arrest among this vulnerable and high-risk population. This paper describes a study that will develop research and communication protocols and adapt two evidence-based treatments, dual-diagnosis motivational interviewing (DDMI) and integrated group therapy (IGT), for delivery to adults with CODs across a jail-to-community treatment continuum. Methods/design Adaptations to DDMI and IGT were guided by the Risk-Need-Responsivity model and the National Institute of Corrections’ implementation competencies; the development of the implementation framework and communication protocols were guided by the Evidence-Based Interagency Implementation Model for community corrections and the Inter-organizational Relationship model, respectively. Implementation and evaluation of the protocols and adapted interventions will occur via an open trial and a pilot randomized trial. The clinical intervention consists of two in-jail DDMI sessions and 12 in-community IGT sessions. Twelve adults with CODs and four clinicians will participate in the open trial to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of, and fidelity to, the interventions and research and communication protocols. The pilot controlled trial will be conducted with 60 inmates who will be randomized to either DDMI-IGT or treatment as usual. A baseline assessment will be conducted in jail, and four community-based assessments will be conducted during a 6-month follow-up period. Implementation, clinical, public health, and treatment preference outcomes will be evaluated. Discussion Findings have the potential to improve both jail- and community-based treatment services for adults with CODs as well as inform methods for conducting rigorous pilot implementation and evaluation research in correctional settings and as inmates re-enter the community. Findings will contribute to a growing area of work focused on interrupting the cycle of limited treatment engagement, unaddressed criminogenic risks, and (re)arrest among adults with CODs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02214667 . Registered on 10 August 2014

The frequency of genes encoding three putative group B streptococcal virulence factors among invasive and colonizing isolates

BACKGROUND: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) causes severe infections in very young infants and invasive disease in pregnant women and adults with underlying medical conditions. GBS pathogenicity varies between and within serotypes, with considerable variation in genetic content between strains. Three proteins, Rib encoded by rib, and alpha and beta C proteins encoded by bca and bac, respectively, have been suggested as potential vaccine candidates for GBS. It is not known, however, whether these genes occur more frequently in invasive versus colonizing GBS strains. METHODS: We screened 162 invasive and 338 colonizing GBS strains from different collections using dot blot hybridization to assess the frequency of bca, bac and rib. All strains were defined by serotyping for capsular type, and frequency differences were tested using the Chi square test. RESULTS: Genes encoding the beta C protein (bac) and Rib (rib) occurred at similar frequencies among invasive and colonizing isolates, bac (20% vs. 23%), and rib (28% vs. 20%), while the alpha (bca) C protein was more frequently found in colonizing strains (46%) vs, invasive (29%). Invasive strains were associated with specific serotype/gene combinations. CONCLUSION: Novel virulence factors must be identified to better understand GBS disease

The Intersection Of Interpersonal And Self-Directed Violence Among General Adult, College Student And Sexually Diverse Samples

Background: Suicide and interpersonal violence (i.e. victimization and perpetration) represent pressing public health problems, and yet remain mostly addressed as separate topics. Aims: To identify the (1) frequency and overlap of suicide and interpersonal violence and (2) characteristics differentiating subgroups of violence-related experiences. Methods: A health survey was completed by 2,175 respondents comprised of three groups: college students (n = 702), adult members of a sexuality special interest organization (n = 816) and a community adult sample (n = 657). Latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups characterized by violence experiences; logistic regression was used to identify respondent characteristics differentiating subgroups. Results: Overall rates of violence perpetration were low; perpetration, victimization and self-directed violence all varied by sample. Adults with alternative sexual interests reported high rates of victimization and self-directed violence. Analyses indicated two subgroups: (1) victimization + self-directed violence and (2) self-directed violence only. The victimization + self-directed violence subgroup was characterized by older, White, female and sexual orientation minority persons. The self-directed violence subgroup was characterized by younger, non-White, male and straight counterparts engaging with more sexual partners and more frequent drug use. Conclusion: Findings support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of suicide as self-directed violence. Suicide intervention and prevention should further account for the role of violent victimization by focusing on the joint conceptualization of self-directed and interpersonal violence. Additional prevention implications are discussed

Effects of sample size and distributional assumptions on competing models of the factor structure of the PANSS and BPRS

Factor analytic work on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) has yielded varied and conflicting results. The current study explored potential causes of these discrepancies. Prior research has been limited by small sample sizes and an incorrect assumption that the items are normally distributed when in practice responses are highly skewed ordinal variables. Using simulation methodology, we examined the effects of sample size, (in)correctly specifying item distributions, collapsing rarely endorsed response categories, and four factor analytic models. The first is the model of Van Dorn et al., developed using a large integrated data set, specified the item distributions as multinomial, and used cross-validation. The remaining models were developed specifying item distributions as normal: the commonly used pentagonal model of White et al.; the model of Van der Gaag et al. developed using extensive cross-validation methods; and the model of Shafer developed through meta-analysis. Our simulation results indicated that incorrectly assuming normality led to biases in model fit and factor structure, especially for small sample size. Collapsing rarely used response options had negligible effects

Jail-to-community treatment continuum for adults with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Adults with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders (CODs) are overrepresented in jails. In-custody barriers to treatment, including a lack of evidence-based treatment options and the often short periods of incarceration, and limited communication between jails and community-based treatment agencies that can hinder immediate enrollment into community care once released have contributed to a cycle of limited treatment engagement, unaddressed criminogenic risks, and (re)arrest among this vulnerable and high-risk population. This paper describes a study that will develop research and communication protocols and adapt two evidence-based treatments, dual-diagnosis motivational interviewing (DDMI) and integrated group therapy (IGT), for delivery to adults with CODs across a jail-to-community treatment continuum. Methods/design Adaptations to DDMI and IGT were guided by the Risk-Need-Responsivity model and the National Institute of Corrections’ implementation competencies; the development of the implementation framework and communication protocols were guided by the Evidence-Based Interagency Implementation Model for community corrections and the Inter-organizational Relationship model, respectively. Implementation and evaluation of the protocols and adapted interventions will occur via an open trial and a pilot randomized trial. The clinical intervention consists of two in-jail DDMI sessions and 12 in-community IGT sessions. Twelve adults with CODs and four clinicians will participate in the open trial to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of, and fidelity to, the interventions and research and communication protocols. The pilot controlled trial will be conducted with 60 inmates who will be randomized to either DDMI-IGT or treatment as usual. A baseline assessment will be conducted in jail, and four community-based assessments will be conducted during a 6-month follow-up period. Implementation, clinical, public health, and treatment preference outcomes will be evaluated. Discussion Findings have the potential to improve both jail- and community-based treatment services for adults with CODs as well as inform methods for conducting rigorous pilot implementation and evaluation research in correctional settings and as inmates re-enter the community. Findings will contribute to a growing area of work focused on interrupting the cycle of limited treatment engagement, unaddressed criminogenic risks, and (re)arrest among adults with CODs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02214667 . Registered on 10 August 2014

Novel copolymers of vinyl acetate. 3 Ring-substituted ethyl 2-cyano-3-phenyl-2-propenoates

Novel copolymers of vinyl acetate and ring-substituted ethyl 2-cyano-3-phenyl-2-propenoates, RPhCH=C(CN)CO2C2H5 (where R is 4-acetoxy, 4-acetamido, 2-cyano, 3-cyano, 4-cyano, 4-dimethylamino, 4-diethylamino, 2,4,6-trimethyl, 2,3-dimethyl-4-methoxy, 2,4-dimethoxy-3-methyl were prepared in solution with radical initiation at 70C. The propenoates were synthesized by the piperidine catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring-substituted benzaldehydes and ethyl cyanoacetate, and characterized by CHN analysis, IR, 1H and 13C-NMR. The compositions of the copolymers were calculated from nitrogen analysis and the structures were analyzed by IR, 1H and 13C-NMR. Thermal behavior of the copolymers was studied by DSC (Tg) and TGA. Decomposition of the copolymers in nitrogen occurred in two steps, first in the 160-350ºC range with residue (1.5-15.1 wt%), which then decomposed in the 500-650ºC range

Degradation and remobilization of endogenous retroviruses by recombination during the earliest stages of a germ-line invasion

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are proviral sequences that result from colonization of the host germ line by exogenous retroviruses. The majority of ERVs represent defective retroviral copies. However, for most ERVs, endogenization occurred millions of years ago, obscuring the stages by which ERVs become defective and the changes in both virus and host important to the process. The koala retrovirus, KoRV, only recently began invading the germ line of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), permitting analysis of retroviral endogenization on a prospective basis. Here, we report that recombination with host genomic elements disrupts retroviruses during the earliest stages of germ-line invasion. One type of recombinant, designated recKoRV1, was formed by recombination of KoRV with an older degraded retroelement. Many genomic copies of recKoRV1 were detected across koalas. The prevalence of recKoRV1 was higher in northern than in southern Australian koalas, as is the case for KoRV, with differences in recKoRV1 prevalence, but not KoRV prevalence, between inland and coastal New South Wales. At least 15 additional different recombination events between KoRV and the older endogenous retroelement generated distinct recKoRVs with different geographic distributions. All of the identified recombinant viruses appear to have arisen independently and have highly disrupted ORFs, which suggests that recombination with existing degraded endogenous retroelements may be a means by which replication-competent ERVs that enter the germ line are degraded