A Best Practice Guide for Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) in Transgender and Nonbinary (TNB) Health

This guide describes best practices for community-based participatory research (CBPR) with transgender and nonbinary (TNB) communities. We hope it will be a resource for people involved or interested in TNB health research and will make CBPR approachable, actionable and compelling. We anticipate readers of this guide will hold varying identities, experiences, and expertise, including their understanding of or familiarity with research and TNB communities. It is important to explicitly recognize that there are TNB people of varying cultural/language backgrounds already doing this work and to avoid reinforcing assumptions that researchers are not TNB, Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), or TNB BIPOC. While we believe the best people to initiate and practice TNB health CBPR are TNB people, we also recognize that the majority of people involved in TNB health research are not TNB themselves. This guide is designed to offer insight to all audiences. Our goal is to provide an overview of themes we believe are important and best practices to collaboratively develop and carry-out research with TNB communities

Understanding divergent zoochorous dispersal

The mechanisms which underpin passive dispersal (zoochory) of organisms (or propagules) by other, usually more mobile animals (vector species), are frequently poorly understood. While certain dispersal networks have received considerable scientific interest, basic questions concerning the relative importance of vector species, propagule survival, and likely dispersal distances, often remain unanswered. Here, we propose and apply a series of novel metrics, the Dispersal Potential (DP), the Relative Dispersal Potential (RDP) and the Combined Dispersal Potential (CDP), to predict and classify likely dispersal and vector importance. In essence, DP = Np × Tv, whereby Np is the per capita propagule load (e.g. mean, minimum, or maximum abundance) or species richness of propagules carried per individual vector species, while Tv is the total number of possible vectors (e.g. individuals of a single species at a source site, local scale abundances, or entire continental populations). Further, the ratio based metric RDP allows for DP comparison between species, while the CDP accumulates the DP of a variety of vector species. An additional Relative CDP (RCDP) metric facilitates comparison between the CDP for multiple vectors to that of one or more additional vectors. The proposed metrics can also be used to assess intraspecific differences (e.g. ontogeny or reproductive status). Accordingly, we examine a variety of case studies and present calculations to ascertain the usefulness of our proposed metrics. Finally, we argue that adoption of these metrics and variants thereof, will enhance understanding of zoochory within and across dispersal networks

Symptom-driven inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist therapy for adult patients with asthma who are non-adherent to daily maintenance inhalers: A study protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: While inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are considered the essential foundation of most asthma therapy, ICS inhaler nonadherence is a notoriously common problem and a significant cause of asthma-related morbidity. Partially acknowledging the problem of nonadherence, international organizations recently made paradigm-shifting recommendations that all patients with mild-to-moderate persistent asthma be considered for symptom-driven ICS-containing inhalers rather than relying on adherence to traditional maintenance ICS inhalers and symptom-driven short-acting beta-agonists (SABA). With this new approach, asthma patients are at least exposed to the important anti-inflammatory effects of ICS-containing inhalers when their symptom reliever inhaler is deployed due to acute symptoms. METHODS: This study will (Part 1) complete a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to evaluate if an inhaler strategy that utilizes symptom-driven ICS inhalers is particularly beneficial in maintenance ICS inhaler non-adherent asthma patients, and (Part 2) use a dissemination and implementation (D&I) science conceptual framework to better understand patients\u27 and providers\u27 views of inhaler nonadherence. This study, which will have an option of taking place entirely remotely, will use a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved electronic sensor (Hailie® sensor) to monitor inhaler adherence and includes semi-structured interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). DISCUSSION: This study is assessing the problem of nonadherence using a D&I implementation science research lens while testing a new inhaler approach to potentially ameliorate the detrimental consequences of maintenance inhaler nonadherence. We hypothesize that the use of a symptom-driven ICS/LABA management strategy, as compared to traditional maintenance ICS treatment and symptom-driven SABA, will lead to improved adherence to an asthma treatment strategy, decreased asthma-related morbidity, less cumulative ICS exposure, and greater patient satisfaction with an inhaler approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05111262. Registered on November 8, 2021

London Hybrid Exposure Model: Improving Human Exposure Estimates to NO2 and PM2.5 in an Urban Setting.

Here we describe the development of the London Hybrid Exposure Model (LHEM), which calculates exposure of the Greater London population to outdoor air pollution sources, in-buildings, in-vehicles, and outdoors, using survey data of when and where people spend their time. For comparison and to estimate exposure misclassification we compared Londoners LHEM exposure with exposure at the residential address, a commonly used exposure metric in epidemiological research. In 2011, the mean annual LHEM exposure to outdoor sources was estimated to be 37% lower for PM2.5 and 63% lower for NO2 than at the residential address. These decreased estimates reflect the effects of reduced exposure indoors, the amount of time spent indoors (∼95%), and the mode and duration of travel in London. We find that an individual's exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 outside their residential address is highly correlated (Pearson's R of 0.9). In contrast, LHEM exposure estimates for PM2.5 and NO2 suggest that the degree of correlation is influenced by their exposure in different transport modes. Further development of the LHEM has the potential to increase the understanding of exposure error and bias in time-series and cohort studies and thus better distinguish the independent effects of NO2 and PM2.5

Parallel altitudinal clines reveal trends in adaptive evolution of genome size in \u3ci\u3eZea mays\u3c/i\u3e

While the vast majority of genome size variation in plants is due to differences in repetitive sequence, we know little about how selection acts on repeat content in natural populations. Here we investigate parallel changes in intraspecific genome size and repeat content of domesticated maize (Zea mays) landraces and their wild relative teosinte across altitudinal gradients in Mesoamerica and South America. We combine genotyping, low coverage whole-genome sequence data, and flow cytometry to test for evidence of selection on genome size and individual repeat abundance. We find that population structure alone cannot explain the observed variation, implying that clinal patterns of genome size are maintained by natural selection. Our modeling additionally provides evidence of selection on individual heterochromatic knob repeats, likely due to their large individual contribution to genome size. To better understand the phenotypes driving selection on genome size, we conducted a growth chamber experiment using a population of highland teosinte exhibiting extensive variation in genome size. We find weak support for a positive correlation between genome size and cell size, but stronger support for a negative correlation between genome size and the rate of cell production. Reanalyzing published data of cell counts in maize shoot apical meristems, we then identify a negative correlation between cell production rate and flowering time. Together, our data suggest a model in which variation in genome size is driven by natural selection on flowering time across altitudinal clines, connecting intraspecific variation in repetitive sequence to important differences in adaptive phenotypes

Guía de mejores prácticas para la investigación participativa basada en la comunidad (Community-Based Participatory Research - CBPR) sobre la salud de personas transgénero y no binarias (Transgender and Nonbinary - TNB)

Esta guía describe las mejores prácticas para la investigación participativa basada en la comunidad (CBPR, por sus siglas en inglés) con comunidades transgénero y no binarias (TNB, por sus siglas en inglés). Esperamos que sea un recurso para las personas involucradas o interesadas en la investigación de la salud en la comunidad TNB y que haga que la CBPR sea accesible, factible y convincente. Anticipamos que les lectores de esta guía tendrán diferentes identidades, experiencias y conocimientos, además de comprender y estar familiarizades con las investigaciones y las comunidades TNB. Es importante reconocer explícitamente que hay personas TNB de diversos orígenes culturales/lingüísticos que ya están haciendo este trabajo y evitar reforzar suposiciones de que les investigadores no son TNB, negres, indígenas, personas racializadas (BIPOC, por sus siglas en inglés), o BICOP TNB. Aunque creemos que las mejores personas para iniciar y llevar a cabo la CBPR sobre la salud en la comunidad TNB son las personas TNB, también reconocemos que la mayoría de las personas involucradas en la investigación sobre salud en la comunidad TNB no son ellas mismas TNB. Esta guía está diseñada para ofrecer una comprensión a todo el público. Nuestra meta es proporcionar una visión general de los temas que consideramos importantes y las mejores prácticas para desarrollar y llevar a cabo la investigación en colaboración con las comunidades TN

Driver's Seat: Understanding Divergent Zoochorous Dispersal of Propagules

The functional role, relative importance, and the spatial and temporal parameters of different vector species, which underpin the passive dispersal (zoochory) of organisms (or their propagules), are frequently poorly understood. Accordingly, a conceptual framework capable of providing a rigorous and unified assessment for the dispersal capacity of vector species is required. Here, we propose and apply a series of novel metrics, the Dispersal Potential (DP), the Relative Dispersal Potential (RDP), and the Combined Dispersal Potential (CDP), to predict and classify likely dispersal and vector importance. In essence, DP = Np × Tv, whereby Np is the per capita propagule load (e.g., mean, minimum, or maximum abundance) or species richness of propagules carried per individual vector species, while Tv is the total number of possible vectors (e.g., individuals of a single species at a source site, local scale abundances, or entire continental populations). Further, the ratio based metric RDP allows for DP comparison between species, while the CDP accumulates the DP of a variety of vector species. An additional Relative CDP (RCDP) metric facilitates comparison between the CDP for multiple vectors to that of one or more additional vectors. The proposed metrics can also be used to assess intraspecific differences (e.g., ontogeny). Accordingly, we examine a variety of case studies and present calculations to ascertain the usefulness of our proposed metrics. Overall, the metrics can be used to quantify and rank the prominence of different dispersers that facilitate biological connectivity. Finally, we argue that adoption of these metrics and variants thereof, will provide a more realistic measure of species' functional roles than examination of interaction intensities alone, which will enhance understanding of zoochory within and across dispersal networks