Noise, NOISE, Noise Impacts on Plants & Pollinators

Recent studies have shown that anthropogenic noise can have significant impacts on the species composition of ecosystems, plant physiology, and animal behavior. While past studies have examined impacts on different organisms separately and often in the lab, this study compared responses of pollinators and plants exposed to two different locations (HT – high traffic and LT – low traffic) separated by 200 m on the Hollins University campus. Average noise levels at the HT site were 10 dB louder than at the LT site with the average maximum levels greater than 90 db. Unlike previous studies, we found that the above and below ground biomass of plants grown in HT and LT microcosms did not differ nor was there any difference in leaf stomatal density after 58 days. Before harvesting, pollinator activity at the microcosms at the HT and LT site was videotaped simultaneously on five different occasions. Analysis of these videos revealed no difference in visitation rates by pollinators between the LT and HT sites; however, a greater diversity in pollinator taxa was seen on marigolds at the LT site during July. This multilayered field study indicated that noise may have impacts on biological organisms but further study is warranted

Translational Science and Evidence-Based Healthcare: A Clarification and Reconceptualization of How Knowledge Is Generated and Used in Healthcare

The importance of basing health policy and health care practices on the best available international evidence (“evidence-based health care”) and on translating knowledge or evidence into action (“translation science” or “translational research”) is increasingly being emphasized across all health sectors inmost countries. Evidence-based healthcare is a process that identifies policy or clinical questions and addresses these questions by generating knowledge and evidence to effectively and appropriately deliver healthcare in ways that are effective, feasible, and meaningful to specific populations, cultures, and settings. This evidence is then appraised, synthesized, and transferred to service delivery settings and health professionals who then utilize it and evaluate its impact on health outcomes, health systems, and professional practice. Many of the common theories that address this translational process place it apart from the evidence-based practice cycle and most recognise only two translational gaps. This paper seeks to clarify the nature of evidence-based healthcare and translation science and proposes a reconceptualization that both brings together these two dominant ideas in modern healthcare and asserts the existence of a third fundamental gap that is rarely addressed the gap between knowledge need and discovery

'The world we share': Everyday relations and the political consequences of refugee-refugee hosting in Amman, Jordan

Male, Sudanese experiences of displacement in Amman, Jordan are characterised by the exclusions of state and international humanitarian response bureaucracies, and compounded by pervasive racial discrimination and violence. As part of their efforts to maintain their presence in the city, the men have created household-level hosting relationships, based on a situated ethics of care developed through shared understandings and experiences of displacement and a recognition of their interdependence. Through these personal relations, the men inhabit the city and offer one another some safety from the uncertain and hostile context of their displacement in Jordan. Hosting arrangements are not merely convenient or functionally necessary in the difficult circumstances of displacement, but produce new ways of being together and serve as sites for the enactment of social rights and claims to presence. As such, refugee-refugee hosting practices hold the potential for lived citizenship, enacted through everyday and ordinary acts of care

\u3cem\u3eIn Vitro\u3c/em\u3e Determination of Potency of Small Molecule Inhibitors of Arp2/3 Complex

Actin is a key protein building block of actin microfilaments, which are constructed and deconstructed in response to cellular signaling pathways to regulate cellular processes such as motility, division, and endocytosis. Arp2/3 Complex is a 7-subunit protein complex that is in involved in cellular construction of branched actin networks, functioning by attaching to the side of a pre-existing actin filament and nucleating a daughter branch. Overexpression of Arp2/3 complex has been linked to the ability of certain metastatic cancers to proliferate. This work describes the synthesis and in vitro biochemical testing of several molecules predicted by computational docking to be inhibitors of Arp2/3 Complex, and therefore of potential interest in clinical applications. A bulk actin polymerization assay is used as the key method to determine the potency of inhibitor candidates. Structure-activity relationships derived from these results are also discussed

Supplement for "Me vs. Super(wo)man: Effects of Customization and Identification in a VR Exergame"

This supplement describes an approach that can be used to create an “enhanced“ avatar based on a) a realistic, current avatar (R) and b) an idealised, desired future avatar (I) of a user. The aim of the approach is to create avatars that reflect “enhancements” of the realistic avatar along a realistic trajectory. The realistic avatar is used as a starting point, and the idealised avatar as a “goal”.The participants are asked to create a realistic avatar (R) and an Idealistic avatar (I) using an off-the-shelf software tool for video game character design, Autodesk Character Generator. The tool provides an interface for the design of avatars based on blend shapes, i.e. pre-defined body shapes that can be combined to adjust face and body design. Participants are given guidance on how to customise a base character to make an avatar in their own likeness by choosing the character sex (male or female), face shape (by blending two faces together), facial features including eye, mouth and nose shape, body shape (by blending two body shapes together). Customising body shape and eye colour. Skin tone, hairstyle, hair colour and eye colour. Finally, participants were are given a choice of garments for the top half and lower half, plus a choice of shoes. Once the realistic and idealistic avatars have been produced the aim of the approach is to create avatars that reflect “enhancements” of the realistic avatar along a realistic trajectory. The realistic avatar is used as a starting point, and the idealised avatar as a “goal”Autodesk Character Generator was used to create the Avatars this can be found at https://charactergenerator.autodesk.com

Me vs. Super(wo)man: Effects of Customization and Identification in a VR Exergame

Customised avatars are a powerful tool to increase identification, engagement and intrinsic motivation in digital games. We investigated the effects of customisation in a self-competitive VR exergame by modelling players and their previous performance in the game with customised avatars. In a first study we found that, similar to non-exertion games, customisation significantly increased identification and intrinsic motivation, as well as physical performance in the exergame. In a second study we identified a more complex relationship with the customisation style: idealised avatars increased wishful identification but decreased exergame performance compared to realistic avatars. In a third study, we found that 'enhancing' realistic avatars with idealised characteristics increased wishful identification, but did not have any adverse effects. We discuss the findings based on feedforward and self-determination theory, proposing notions of intrinsic identification (fostering a sense of self) and extrinsic identification (drawing away from the self) to explain the results

Locus coeruleus to basolateral amygdala noradrenergic projections promote anxiety-like behavior

Increased tonic activity of locus coeruleus noradrenergic (LC-NE) neurons induces anxiety-like and aversive behavior. While some information is known about the afferent circuitry that endogenously drives this neural activity and behavior, the downstream receptors and anatomical projections that mediate these acute risk aversive behavioral states via the LC-NE system remain unresolved. Here we use a combination of retrograde tracing, fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, electrophysiology, and in vivo optogenetics with localized pharmacology to identify neural substrates downstream of increased tonic LC-NE activity in mice. We demonstrate that photostimulation of LC-NE fibers in the BLA evokes norepinephrine release in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), alters BLA neuronal activity, conditions aversion, and increases anxiety-like behavior. Additionally, we report that β-adrenergic receptors mediate the anxiety-like phenotype of increased NE release in the BLA. These studies begin to illustrate how the complex efferent system of the LC-NE system selectively mediates behavior through distinct receptor and projection-selective mechanisms

Do transgender men have equal access to health care and engagement in preventive health behaviors compared to cisgender adults?

Based on data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study looks at whether transgender men have the same rates of health care access and engagement in preventive health behaviors as cisgender adults in the U.S. and whether race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and rural residence moderate these relationships. While there are some differences for transgender men, these differences no longer reach statistical significance after controlling for other sociodemographic factors. Rural residence and having less education are significant moderators for some models related to health care access and preventive health. We detail implications for social workers within health care settings