Health Communications Trial with a Resistant Population to Increase Public Health Compliance during a Pandemic

Background: Georgia has among the worst rates of COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates in the nation. Many identifying as politically conservative resist public health mitigation measures, similar to populations in other politically conservative geographical areas. There are limited peer-reviewed public health communications designed for this population. We aimed to determine if an intervention using a fear appeal approach with efficacy during a pandemic can positively affect knowledge, attitude, perception, and/or behavior (KAP) in Georgia with this population. Methods: We delivered online video stimuli tailored to the geocultural characteristics of the target population. designed to stimulate fear, encourage efficacy, and counter mis- and disinformation. It used three routes to affect participants: narrative, direct messaging, and non-message cues. We measured risk aversion and conspiratorial ideation as moderating psychological factors using psychological batteries. Census and voting data were used to identify a convenience sample of 829 Georgia adults in an outer Atlanta suburb. Results: Exposure to the video, moderated by risk aversion, resulted in increased recommended mitigating behavior to prevent COVID-19 (13.7%, 95% CI: 2.7% to 24.7%,) and increased positive attitude toward the recommendations (7.7%, 95% CI: 5.9% to 9.3%). Exposure to the video, moderated by conspiratorial ideation, resulted in an increase in perception of COVID-19 risk (7.6% 95% CI: 1.8% to 13.5%) among participants. Conclusions: An intervention using a fear appeal approach with efficacy during a pandemic can positively affect attitude and risk perception of a politically conservative population. Scaling similar interventions with resistant geocultural populations has promise of increasing adherence to public health recommendations. The moderating factor of conspiratorial ideation is relevant given conspiracies during pandemics, such as COVID-19. This multidisciplinary study contributes to the extant literature by providing insights of populations influenced by contrary political attitudes

Sustainability appraisal: Jack of all trades, master of none?

Sustainable development is a commonly quoted goal for decision making and supports a large number of other discourses. Sustainability appraisal has a stated goal of supporting decision making for sustainable development. We suggest that the inherent flexibility of sustainability appraisal facilitates outcomes that often do not adhere to the three goals enshrined in most definitions of sustainable development: economic growth, environmental protection and enhancement, and the wellbeing of the human population. Current practice is for sustainable development to be disenfranchised through the interpretation of sustainability, whereby the best alternative is good enough even when unsustainable. Practitioners must carefully and transparently review the frameworks applied during sustainability appraisal to ensure that outcomes will meet the three goals, rather than focusing on a discourse that emphasises one or more goals at the expense of the other(s)

Lattice Boltzmann simulations of soft matter systems

This article concerns numerical simulations of the dynamics of particles immersed in a continuum solvent. As prototypical systems, we consider colloidal dispersions of spherical particles and solutions of uncharged polymers. After a brief explanation of the concept of hydrodynamic interactions, we give a general overview over the various simulation methods that have been developed to cope with the resulting computational problems. We then focus on the approach we have developed, which couples a system of particles to a lattice Boltzmann model representing the solvent degrees of freedom. The standard D3Q19 lattice Boltzmann model is derived and explained in depth, followed by a detailed discussion of complementary methods for the coupling of solvent and solute. Colloidal dispersions are best described in terms of extended particles with appropriate boundary conditions at the surfaces, while particles with internal degrees of freedom are easier to simulate as an arrangement of mass points with frictional coupling to the solvent. In both cases, particular care has been taken to simulate thermal fluctuations in a consistent way. The usefulness of this methodology is illustrated by studies from our own research, where the dynamics of colloidal and polymeric systems has been investigated in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium situations.Comment: Review article, submitted to Advances in Polymer Science. 16 figures, 76 page

Global Spatial Risk Assessment of Sharks Under the Footprint of Fisheries

Effective ocean management and conservation of highly migratory species depends on resolving overlap between animal movements and distributions and fishing effort. Yet, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach combining satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively) and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We conclude that pelagic sharks have limited spatial refuge from current levels of high-seas fishing effort. Results demonstrate an urgent need for conservation and management measures at high-seas shark hotspots and highlight the potential of simultaneous satellite surveillance of megafauna and fishers as a tool for near-real time, dynamic management

Periodic solutions for three sedimenting spheres

Exact periodic solutions are found for the relative motion of three spheres sedimenting in a Stokes fluid. Nearby solutions are found to be nearly periodic for a long time. Existence of the exact periodic solutions is proved using the point‐particle approximation and symmetry properties of Stokes equations. Numerical simulations for finite‐sized particles are performed using a method of multipole expansions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69656/2/PFLDAS-31-11-3175-1.pd

Hoxb8 conditionally immortalised macrophage lines model inflammatory monocytic cells with important similarity to dendritic cells

We have examined the potential to generate bona fide macrophages (MØ) from conditionally immortalised murine bone marrow precursors. MØ can be derived from Hoxb8 conditionally immortalised macrophage precursor cell lines (MØP) using either M-CSF or GM-CSF. When differentiated in GM-CSF (GM-MØP) the resultant cells resemble GM-CSF bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) in morphological phenotype, antigen phenotype and functional responses to microbial stimuli. In spite of this high similarity between the two cell types and the ability of GM-MØP to effectively present antigen to a T-cell hybridoma, these cells are comparatively poor at priming the expansion of IFN- responses from naïve CD4+ T cells. The generation of MØP from transgenic or genetically aberrant mice provides an excellent opportunity to study the inflammatory role of GM-MØP, and reduces the need for mouse colonies in many studies. Hence differentiation of conditionally immortalised MØPs in GM-CSF represents a unique in vitro model of inflammatory monocyte-like cells, with important differences from bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, which will facilitate functional studies relating to the many ‘sub-phenotypes’ of inflammatory monocytes

Two Young Planetary Systems around Field Stars with Ages between 20 and 320Myr from TESS

Planets around young stars trace the early evolution of planetary systems. We report the discovery and validation of two planetary systems with ages <∼300Myr from observations by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The 40 V320 Myr old G star TOI-251 hosts a 2.74+0.18-0.18 mini-Neptune with a 4.94 day period. The 20-160 Myr old K star TOI-942 hosts a system of inflated Neptune-sized planets, with TOI-942b orbiting in a period of 4.32 days with a radius of 4.81+0.20-0.20 and TOI-942c orbiting in a period of 10.16 days with a radius of 5.79-0.18+0.19 Though we cannot place either host star into a known stellar association or cluster, we can estimate their ages via their photometric and spectroscopic properties. Both stars exhibit significant photometric variability due to spot modulation, with measured rotation periods of .3.5 days. These stars also exhibit significant chromospheric activity, with age estimates from the chromospheric calcium emission lines and X-ray fluxes matching that estimated from gyrochronology. Both stars also exhibit significant lithium absorption, similar in equivalent width to well-characterized young cluster members. TESS has the potential to deliver a population of young planet-bearing field stars, contributing significantly to tracing the properties of planets as a function of their age

Two Young Planetary Systems around Field Stars with Ages between 20 and 320 Myr from TESS

Planets around young stars trace the early evolution of planetary systems. We report the discovery and validation of two planetary systems with ages <∼300Myr from observations by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The 40 V320 Myr old G star TOI-251 hosts a 2.74+0.18-0.18 mini-Neptune with a 4.94 day period. The 20-160 Myr old K star TOI-942 hosts a system of inflated Neptune-sized planets, with TOI-942b orbiting in a period of 4.32 days with a radius of 4.81+0.20-0.20 and TOI-942c orbiting in a period of 10.16 days with a radius of 5.79-0.18+0.19 Though we cannot place either host star into a known stellar association or cluster, we can estimate their ages via their photometric and spectroscopic properties. Both stars exhibit significant photometric variability due to spot modulation, with measured rotation periods of .3.5 days. These stars also exhibit significant chromospheric activity, with age estimates from the chromospheric calcium emission lines and X-ray fluxes matching that estimated from gyrochronology. Both stars also exhibit significant lithium absorption, similar in equivalent width to well-characterized young cluster members. TESS has the potential to deliver a population of young planet-bearing field stars, contributing significantly to tracing the properties of planets as a function of their age