Ontogenetic changes in shape and growth rate during postnatal development in false killer whales (<i>Pseudorca crassidens</i>) vertebral column

Intraspecific variation in cetacean vertebral anatomy as a result of ageing, growth, and sexual dimorphism is poorly understood. Using 3D geometric morphometrics, we investigated allometric patterns, sexual dimorphism, and ontogenetic trajectories in the vertebral column of false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens). Our data set includes thoracic, lumbar, and caudal vertebrae of 30 specimens, including neonates, juveniles, and adults of both sexes. Vertebral shape was significantly correlated with size within each region. Neonatal vertebral shape differed significantly from juveniles and adults, displaying ontogenetic shape change. Allometric and growth patterns of the vertebral regions, particularly of the lumbar region with the thoracic and caudal regions, differed significantly, which may influence the function and mobility patterns of the vertebral regions during different life stages. Using quantitative methods, we could not conclude that the Pseudorca vertebrae are sexually dimorphic. This study describes for the first time intraspecific vertebral patterns in a cetacean species across ontogenetic stages. Pseudorca individuals live in large pods and swim together, sharing the same swimming mode. The neonates have a more flexible column and swim less efficiently following their mothers to nurse

Early Eocene fossils suggest that the mammalian order Perissodactyla originated in India

Cambaytheres (Cambaytherium, Nakusia and Kalitherium) are recently discovered early Eocene placental mammals from the Indo-Pakistan region. They have been assigned to either Perissodactyla (the clade including horses, tapirs and rhinos, which is a member of the superorder Laurasiatheria) or Anthracobunidae, an obscure family that has been variously considered artiodactyls or perissodactyls, but most recently placed at the base of Proboscidea or of Tethytheria (Proboscidea+Sirenia, superorder Afrotheria). Here we report new dental, cranial and postcranial fossils of Cambaytherium, from the Cambay Shale Formation, Gujarat, India (~54.5 Myr). These fossils demonstrate that cambaytheres occupy a pivotal position as the sister taxon of Perissodactyla, thereby providing insight on the phylogenetic and biogeographic origin of Perissodactyla. The presence of the sister group of perissodactyls in western India near or before the time of collision suggests that Perissodactyla may have originated on the Indian Plate during its final drift toward Asia

The Pacific salmon explorer: a data driven look at salmon populations and their habitats

The lack of a centralized, standardized, and easily accessible repository of information on the state of natural resources, and threats to them, can undermine efforts to make informed, transparent, and evidenced-based management and conservation decisions. This is the case with Pacific salmon in British Columbia (BC), where a lack of information on the current status of salmon population and their habitats is undermining public confidence in the ability of government agencies to sustainability manage Pacific salmon populations. In an effort to provide broader public access to salmon datasets, the Pacific Salmon Foundation embarked on a major initiative to synthesize the best available information on Pacific salmon populations and their freshwater habitats throughout northern and central BC. Drawing upon these experiences, we illustrate how broadly available government datasets can be used to monitor and assess the status of salmon populations and their habitats. We show how large public datasets can help to provide information on a suite of indicators of salmon population condition including estimates of freshwater production, spawner abundance, harvest, trends in abundance, run-timing, population productivity, and assessments of biological status. This biological information is coupled with remote-sensed data that is used to quantify cumulative pressures on freshwater salmon habitats. All of this information is made available to the public through the Pacific Salmon Explorer (www.salmonexplorer.ca), an online data visualization tool that allows users to explore salmon-related information through a series of interactive maps and figures as well as download source datasets. While initially developed for northern and central BC, the PSF is now scaling the Pacific Salmon Explorer up to all salmon-bearing watersheds in BC, including those that enter into the Salish Sea. Our novel and scalable approach provides a model for how large quantities of disparate information can be compiled, analyzed, and communicated to decision-makers and the public

Applicability of Precision Medicine Approaches to Managing Hypertension in Rural Populations

As part of the Heart Healthy Lenoir Project, we developed a practice level intervention to improve blood pressure control. The goal of this study was: (i) to determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that associate with blood pressure variation, identified in large studies, are applicable to blood pressure control in subjects from a rural population; (ii) to measure the association of these SNPs with subjects’ responsiveness to the hypertension intervention; and (iii) to identify other SNPs that may help understand patient-specific responses to an intervention. We used a combination of candidate SNPs and genome-wide analyses to test associations with either baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) or change in systolic blood pressure one year after the intervention in two genetically defined ancestral groups: African Americans (AA) and Caucasian Americans (CAU). Of the 48 candidate SNPs, 13 SNPs associated with baseline SBP in our study; however, one candidate SNP, rs592582, also associated with a change in SBP after one year. Using our study data, we identified 4 and 15 additional loci that associated with a change in SBP in the AA and CAU groups, respectively. Our analysis of gene-age interactions identified genotypes associated with SBP improvement within different age groups of our populations. Moreover, our integrative analysis identified AQP4-AS1 and PADI2 as genes whose expression levels may contribute to the pleiotropy of complex traits involved in cardiovascular health and blood pressure regulation in response to an intervention targeting hypertension. In conclusion, the identification of SNPs associated with the success of a hypertension treatment intervention suggests that genetic factors in combination with age may contribute to an individual’s success in lowering SBP. If these findings prove to be applicable to other populations, the use of this genetic variation in making patient-specific interventions may help providers with making decisions to improve patient outcomes. Further investigation is required to determine the role of this genetic variance with respect to the management of hypertension such that more precise treatment recommendations may be made in the future as part of personalized medicine

Socioeconomic status and diabetes technology use in youth with type 1 diabetes: a comparison of two funding models

BackgroundTechnology use, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pump therapy, is associated with improved outcomes in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In 2017 CGM was universally funded for youth with T1D in Australia. In contrast, pump access is primarily accessed through private health insurance, self-funding or philanthropy. The study aim was to investigate the use of diabetes technology across different socioeconomic groups in Australian youth with T1D, in the setting of two contrasting funding models.MethodsA cross-sectional evaluation of 4957 youth with T1D aged &lt;18 years in the national registry was performed to determine technology use. The Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) derived from Australian census data is an area-based measure of socioeconomic status (SES). Lower quintiles represent greater disadvantage. IRSD based on most recent postcode of residence was used as a marker of SES. A multivariable generalised linear model adjusting for age, diabetes duration, sex, remoteness classification, and location within Australia was used to determine the association between SES and device use.ResultsCGM use was lower in IRSD quintile 1 in comparison to quintiles 2 to 5 (p&lt;0.001) where uptake across the quintiles was similar. A higher percentage of pump use was observed in the least disadvantaged IRSD quintiles. Compared to the most disadvantaged quintile 1, pump use progressively increased by 16% (95% CI: 4% to 31%) in quintile 2, 19% (6% to 33%) in quintile 3, 35% (21% to 50%) in quintile 4 and 51% (36% to 67%) in the least disadvantaged quintile 5.ConclusionIn this large national dataset, use of diabetes technologies was found to differ across socioeconomic groups. For nationally subsidised CGM, use was similar across socioeconomic groups with the exception of the most disadvantaged quintile, an important finding requiring further investigation into barriers to CGM use within a nationally subsidised model. User pays funding models for pump therapy result in lower use with socioeconomic disadvantage, highlighting inequities in this funding approach. For the full benefits of diabetes technology to be realised, equitable access to pump therapy needs to be a health policy priority

Utility of the pooling approach as applied to whole genome association scans with high-density Affymetrix microarrays

Background: We report an attempt to extend the previously successful approach of combining SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) microarrays and DNA pooling (SNP-MaP) employing high-density microarrays. Whereas earlier studies employed a range of Affymetrix SNP microarrays comprising from 10 K to 500 K SNPs, this most recent investigation used the 6.0 chip which displays 906,600 SNP probes and 946,000 probes for the interrogation of CNVs (copy number variations). The genotyping assay using the Affymetrix SNP 6.0 array is highly demanding on sample quality due to the small feature size, low redundancy, and lack of mismatch probes. Findings: In the first study published so far using this microarray on pooled DNA, we found that pooled cheek swab DNA could not accurately predict real allele frequencies of the samples that comprised the pools. In contrast, the allele frequency estimates using blood DNA pools were reasonable, although inferior compared to those obtained with previously employed Affymetrix microarrays. However, it might be possible to improve performance by developing improved analysis methods. Conclusions: Despite the decreasing costs of genome-wide individual genotyping, the pooling approach may have applications in very large-scale case-control association studies. In such cases, our study suggests that high-quality DNA preparations and lower density platforms should be preferred

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

Measurement of σ(Λb)/σ(B0)×BR(Λb→Λcπ−)/BR(B0→D+π−)\sigma(\Lambda_b)/\sigma(B^0) \times BR(\Lambda_b\to\Lambda_c\pi^-) / BR(B^0\to D^+\pi^-) in ppˉp\bar{p} Collisions at s=1.96\sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We present the first observation of the baryon decay $\Lambda_b\to\Lambda_c\pi^-$ followed by $\Lambda_c\to p K^-\pi^+$ in 106 pb-1 of $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$ TeV in the CDF experiment. In order to reduce systematic error, the measured rate for $\Lambda_b$ decay is normalized to the kinematically similar meson decay $B^0\to D^+\pi^-$ followed by $D^+\to\pi^+K^-\pi^+$. We report the ratio of production cross sections ($\sigma$) times the ratio of branching fractions (BR) for the momentum region integrated above $p_T > 6$ GeV/c and pseudorapidity range $|\eta| < 1.3$: $\sigma(p\bar{p}\to \Lambda_b X) / \sigma (p\bar{p}\to B^0 X) \times BR(\Lambda_b\to\Lambda_c\pi^-) / BR(B^0\to D^+\pi^-) = 0.82 \pm 0.08(stat) \pm 0.11(syst) \pm 0.22 (BR(\Lambda_c\to p K^-\pi^+))$.Comment: Submitted to Phys.Rev.Let

Global Search for New Physics with 2.0/fb at CDF

Data collected in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron are searched for indications of new electroweak-scale physics. Rather than focusing on particular new physics scenarios, CDF data are analyzed for discrepancies with the standard model prediction. A model-independent approach (Vista) considers gross features of the data, and is sensitive to new large cross-section physics. Further sensitivity to new physics is provided by two additional algorithms: a Bump Hunter searches invariant mass distributions for "bumps" that could indicate resonant production of new particles; and the Sleuth procedure scans for data excesses at large summed transverse momentum. This combined global search for new physics in 2.0/fb of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV reveals no indication of physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version which appeared in Physical Review D Rapid Communication

Observation of Orbitally Excited B_s Mesons

We report the first observation of two narrow resonances consistent with states of orbitally excited (L=1) B_s mesons using 1 fb^{-1} of ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We use two-body decays into K^- and B^+ mesons reconstructed as B^+ \to J/\psi K^+, J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^- or B^+ \to \bar{D}^0 \pi^+, \bar{D}^0 \to K^+ \pi^-. We deduce the masses of the two states to be m(B_{s1}) = 5829.4 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2 and m(B_{s2}^*) = 5839.7 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2.Comment: Version accepted and published by Phys. Rev. Let