Impacts of Drying and Rewetting on the Radiocarbon Signature of Respired CO2 and Implications for Incubating Archived Soils

The radiocarbon signature of respired CO2 (∆14C-CO2) measured in laboratory soil incubations integrates contributions from soil carbon pools with a wide range of ages, making it a powerful model constraint. Incubating archived soils enriched by “bomb-C” from mid-20th century nuclear weapons testing would be even more powerful as it would enable us to trace this pulse over time. However, air-drying and subsequent rewetting of archived soils, as well as storage duration, may alter the relative contribution to respiration from soil carbon pools with different cycling rates. We designed three experiments to assess air-drying and rewetting effects on ∆14C-CO2 with constant storage duration (Experiment 1), without storage (Experiment 2), and with variable storage duration (Experiment 3). We found that air-drying and rewetting led to small but significant (α < 0.05) shifts in ∆14C-CO2 relative to undried controls in all experiments, with grassland soils responding more strongly than forest soils. Storage duration (4–14 y) did not have a substantial effect. Mean differences (95% CIs) for experiments 1, 2, and 3 were: 23.3‰ (±6.6), 19.6‰ (±10.3), and 29.3‰ (±29.1) for grassland soils, versus −11.6‰ (±4.1), 12.7‰ (±8.5), and −24.2‰ (±13.2) for forest soils. Our results indicate that air-drying and rewetting soils mobilizes a slightly older pool of carbon that would otherwise be inaccessible to microbes, an effect that persists throughout the incubation. However, as the bias in ∆14C-CO2 from air-drying and rewetting is small, measuring ∆14C-CO2 in incubations of archived soils appears to be a promising technique for constraining soil carbon models

Shyness and Vocabulary: The Roles of Executive Functioning and Home Environmental Stimulation

Although shyness has often been found to be negatively related to vocabulary, few studies have examined the processes that produce or modify this relation. The present study examined executive functioning skills and home environmental stimulation as potential mediating and moderating mechanisms. A sample of 3½-year-old children (N = 254) was administered executive functioning tasks and a vocabulary test during a laboratory visit. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing child shyness and home environmental stimulation. Our primary hypothesis was that executive functioning mediates the association between shyness and vocabulary, and home environmental stimulation moderates the relation between executive functioning and vocabulary. Alternative hypotheses were also tested. Results indicated that children with better executive functioning skills developed stronger vocabularies when reared in more, versus less, stimulating environments. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the role of shyness, executive functioning, and home environmental stimulation in early vocabulary development

“There is no other option; we have to feed our families…who else would do it?”: The Financial Lives of Women Engaging in Sex Work in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Introduction: This article provides an overview of the financial lives of women (n = 204) engaging in sex work in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Methods: This paper presents findings from a computer-based, interviewer-administered baseline assessment administered with women recruited for participation in a randomized controlled trial testing the feasibility of a combined HIV risk reduction and savings-led microfinance intervention for women engaging in sex work in Mongolia. Findings: Findings demonstrate that most women are the primary financial providers for their households, using an array of earning strategies to provide for themselves and other dependents, with sex work often constituting the primary household income source. Financial instability in the lives of people engaging in sex work may increase their risk for HIV and STIs due to a compromised ability to negotiate safer sex with partners in times of economic crisis or need. High levels of financial responsibility for household welfare, when combined with low reported savings, the presence of debt, higher premiums offered for sex without a condom, and high levels of harmful alcohol use, may heighten women’s risk for HIV and other STIs. Conclusion: Further research that documents the financial lives of people working in sex work is needed in order to understand the complex relationship between financial stability and engagement in sex work, and to inform the development and testing of structural HIV prevention interventions which target the economic determinants of risk. These findings highlight the importance of economic support programming for women engaged in sex work in Mongolia at a time of rapid economic change in Mongolia

Development of Preclinical Ultrasound Imaging Techniques to Identify and Image Sentinel Lymph Nodes in a Cancerous Animal Model

Lymph nodes (LNs) are believed to be the first organs targeted by colorectal cancer cells detached from a primary solid tumor because of their role in draining interstitial fluids. Better detection and assessment of these organs have the potential to help clinicians in stratification and designing optimal design of oncological treatments for each patient. Whilst highly valuable for the detection of primary tumors, CT and MRI remain limited for the characterization of LNs. B-mode ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can improve the detection of LNs and could provide critical complementary information to MRI and CT scans; however, the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) guidelines advise that further evidence is required before US or CEUS can be recommended for clinical use. Moreover, knowledge of the lymphatic system and LNs is relatively limited, especially in preclinical models. In this pilot study, we have created a mouse model of metastatic cancer and utilized 3D high-frequency ultrasound to assess the volume, shape, and absence of hilum, along with CEUS to assess the flow dynamics of tumor-free and tumor-bearing LNs in vivo. The aforementioned parameters were used to create a scoring system to predict the likelihood of a disease-involved LN before establishing post-mortem diagnosis with histopathology. Preliminary results suggest that a sum score of parameters may provide a more accurate diagnosis than the LN size, the single parameter currently used to predict the involvement of an LN in disease

Emotion and cognition processes in preschool children

The core processes of emotion understanding, emotion control, cognitive understanding, andcognitive control and their association with early indicators of social and academic success wereexamined in a sample of 141 3-year-old children. Confirmatory factor analysis supported thehypothesized four-factor model of emotion and cognition in early childhood. A subsequentstructural model indicated that emotion understanding processes were significantly positivelyassociated with early indicators of academic success, while emotion control processes wereinversely related to socioemotional problems. These results point to the utility of an integratedmodel of emotion and cognition in early development and offer support for the differentiation ofunderstanding and control processes within these developmental arenas as a framework forfuture study

Physical and sexual violence, childhood sexual abuse and HIV/STI risk behaviour among alcohol-using women engaged in sex work in Mongolia

Although the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Mongolia is low, it could increase without strategic prevention strategies. Female sex workers (FSWs) often experience barriers to prevention, including interpersonal violence. This study investigated if childhood sexual abuse (CSA) or recent physical or sexual violence was associated with HIV sexual risk behaviours and if CSA modified associations between recent violence and HIV sexual risk behaviours. Two-hundred twenty-two women who (1) were at least 18 years old and clients at the National AIDS Foundation; (2) reported vaginal or anal sex in the past 90 days in exchange for money or goods and (3) met criteria for harmful alcohol use in the past year were enrolled. In-person interviews assessed sexual risk behaviours and violence in childhood and adulthood. Negative binomial regression, ordinary least squares regression and modified Poisson regression were performed. Sexual risk with paying partners was associated with penetrative CSA and sexual violence by paying partners. CSA and recent violence were not associated with sexual risk behaviours with intimate partners. CSA modified the association between recent sexual violence and unprotected sex with intimate partners. Findings highlight the need for integrated violence and sexual risk reduction services to ensure safe and effective prevention for FSWs

Detection and quantitation of HPV in genital and oral tissues and fluids by real time PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) remain a serious world health problem due to their association with anogenital/oral cancers and warts. While over 100 HPV types have been identified, a subset is associated with malignancy. HPV16 and 18 are the most prevalent oncogenic types, while HPV6 and 11 are most commonly responsible for anogenital warts. While other quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays detect oncogenic HPV, there is no single tube assay distinguishing the most frequent oncogenic types and the most common types found in warts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A Sybr Green-based qPCR assay was developed utilizing degenerate primers to the highly conserved HPV E1 theoretically detecting any HPV type. A single tube multiplex qPCR assay was also developed using type-specific primer pairs and TaqMan probes that allowed for detection and quantitation of HPV6,11,16,18. Each HPV type was detected over a range from 2 × 10¹to 2 × 10⁶copies/reaction providing a reliable method of quantitating type-specific HPV in 140 anogenital/cutaneous/oral benign and malignant specimens. 35 oncogenic and low risk alpha genus HPV types were detected. Concordance was detected in previously typed specimens. Comparisons to the gold standard detected an overall sensitivity of 89% (95% CI: 77% - 96%) and specificity of 90% (95%CI: 52% - 98%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There was good agreement between the ability of the qPCR assays described here to identify HPV types in malignancies previously typed using standard methods. These novel qPCR assays will allow rapid detection and quantitation of HPVs to assess their role in viral pathogenesis.</p

Developmental Dynamics of Emotion and Cognition Processes in Preschoolers

Dynamic relations during the preschool years across processes of control and understanding in the domains of emotion and cognition were examined. Participants were 263 children (42% non-White) and their mothers who were seen first when the children were 3 years old and again when they were 4. Results indicated dynamic dependence among the processes studied. Specifically, change in cognitive processes of control and understanding were dependent upon initial levels of the other processes. Changes in emotion control and understanding were not predicted by earlier performance in the other processes. Findings are discussed with regard to the constructs of control and understanding and the developmental interrelations among emotion and cognitive processes

Cognitive and emotional processes as predictors of a successful transition into school

Research Findings: The aim of this research was to delineate developmental processes that contribute to early school success. To achieve this aim, we examined emotion regulation, executive functioning, emotion knowledge, and metacognition at ages 3 and 4 as distal and proximal predictors of age 5 achievement and school adjustment in a sample of 263 children (42% non-White). We also explored mediational pathways among these 4 processes in the prediction of the age 5 outcomes. Results revealed that all 4 processes affected achievement and school adjustment, but in different ways, with executive functioning emerging as a key predictor. Practice or Policy: Executive functioning was found to be a key factor in predicting achievement and school performance in the kindergarten year. This finding provides support for the development of executive functioning training programs that can be applied in the preschool classroom, particularly for promoting reading development. However, additional emphasis should be placed on both cognitive and emotional processes in the preschool years to promote optimal development