Using an Implementation Research Framework to Identify Potential Facilitators and Barriers of an Intervention to Increase HPV Vaccine Uptake

Background: Although the incidence of cervical cancer has been decreasing in the United States over the last decade, Hispanic and African American women have substantially higher rates than Caucasian women. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary, although insufficient, cause of cervical cancer. In the United States in 2013, only 37.6% of girls 13 to 17 years of age received the recommended 3 doses of a vaccine that is almost 100% efficacious for preventing infection with viruses that are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers. Implementation research has been underutilized in interventions for increasing vaccine uptake. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), an approach for designing effective implementation strategies, integrates 5 domains that may include barriers and facilitators of HPV vaccination. These include the innovative practice (Intervention), communities where youth and parents live (Outer Setting), agencies offering vaccination (Inner Setting), health care staff (Providers), and planned execution and evaluation of intervention delivery (Implementation Process). Methods: Secondary qualitative analysis of transcripts of interviews with 30 community health care providers was conducted using the CFIR to code potential barriers and facilitators of HPV vaccination implementation. Results: All CFIR domains except Implementation Process were well represented in providers\u27 statements about challenges and supports for HPV vaccination. Conclusion: A comprehensive implementation framework for promoting HPV vaccination may increase vaccination rates in ethnically diverse communities. This study suggests that the CFIR can be used to guide clinicians in planning implementation of new approaches to increasing HPV vaccine uptake in their settings. Further research is needed to determine whether identifying implementation barriers and facilitators in all 5 CFIR domains as part of developing an intervention contributes to improved HPV vaccination rates

Dependence of Avidity on Linker Length for a Bivalent Ligand–Bivalent Receptor Model System

This paper describes a synthetic dimer of carbonic anhydrase, and a series of bivalent sulfonamide ligands with different lengths (25 to 69 Å between the ends of the fully extended ligands), as a model system to use in examining the binding of bivalent antibodies to antigens. Assays based on analytical ultracentrifugation and fluorescence binding indicate that this system forms cyclic, noncovalent complexes with a stoichiometry of one bivalent ligand to one dimer. This dimer binds the series of bivalent ligands with low picomolar avidities (Kdavidity = 3–40 pM). A structurally analogous monovalent ligand binds to one active site of the dimer with Kdmono = 16 nM. The bivalent association is thus significantly stronger (Kdmono/Kdavidity ranging from 500 to 5000 unitless) than the monovalent association. We infer from these results, and by comparison of these results to previous studies, that bivalency in antibodies can lead to associations much tighter than monovalent associations (although the observed bivalent association is much weaker than predicted from the simplest level of theory: predicted Kdavidity of 0.002 pM and Kdmono/Kdavidity 8 × 106 unitless).Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

New data on the Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age metallurgy in Central Portugal. The contribution of Vila do Touro (Sabugal, Guarda)

This paper focuses on the study of a group of metal artefacts recently recovered during the archaeological excavations in Vila do Touro (Central Portugal), i.e., 19 artefacts and a small metallic inclusion embedded in a pottery sherd. The objects have been analysed by an X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer to characterise the elemental composition of metal artefacts. A Scanning Electron Microscope with X-ray Microanalysis System and an optical microscope were used to observe and chemically characterise the metal inclusion in the pottery. The fragment of an ingot was also analysed by a multicollector Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer to address issues bound to the provenance of raw material. The results revealed different compositional patterns (pure copper, binary bronze, i.e., Cu+Sn, leaded bronzes, i.e., Cu+Sn+Pb, and gold), while pointing out the Ossa Morena region (Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula) as likely source of copper used to produce the ingot

What Drives Reproductive Maturity and Efficiency in Serotinous Boreal Conifers?

In boreal North America, much of the landscape is covered by fire-adapted forests dominated by serotinous conifers. For these forests, reductions in fire return interval could limit reproductive success, owing to insufficient time for stands to reach reproductive maturity i.e., to initiate cone production. Improved understanding of the drivers of reproductive maturity can provide important information about the capacity of these forests to self-replace following fire. Here, we assessed the drivers of reproductive maturity in two dominant and widespread conifers, semi-serotinous black spruce and serotinous jack pine. Presence or absence of female cones were recorded in approximately 15,000 individuals within old and recently burned stands in two distinct ecozones of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. Our results show that reproductive maturity was triggered by a minimum tree size threshold rather than an age threshold, with trees reaching reproductive maturity at smaller sizes where environmental conditions were more stressful. The number of reproductive trees per plot increased with stem density, basal area, and at higher latitudes (colder locations). The harsh climatic conditions present at these higher latitudes, however, limited the recruitment of jack pine at the treeline ecotone. The number of reproductive black spruce trees increased with deeper soils, whereas the number of reproductive jack pine trees increased where soils were shallower. We examined the reproductive efficiency i.e., the number of seedlings recruited per reproductive tree, linking pre-fire reproductive maturity of recently burned stands and post-fire seedling recruitment (recorded up to 4 years after the fires) and found that a reproductive jack pine can recruit on average three times more seedlings than a reproductive black spruce. We suggest that the higher reproductive efficiency of jack pine can explain the greater resilience of this species to wildfire compared with black spruce. Overall, these results help link life history characteristics, such as reproductive maturity, to variation in post-fire recruitment of dominant serotinous conifers

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Contributos para o estudo do depósito metálico de Espite (Ourém)

Livro do Colóquio realizado na Figueira da Foz, de 21 a 23 de novembro de 2019. Coordenação: Ana Margarida Ferreira e Raquel Vilaça.Este trabalho constitui uma primeira etapa do estudo monográfico do depósito metálico de Espite (Ourém), parcialmente publicado por Estácio da Veiga em 1891. Trata-se de um conjunto insuficientemente valorizado pela investigação, com características peculiares, seja pela sua composição (originalmente constituído por trinta e duas peças, machados planos na sua maioria, em cobre), seja pela cronologia recuada (Calcolítico Final / Bronze Antigo). Pouco depois do achado, o conjunto é adquirido por Sande e Castro, que distribuiu muitas das peças tal como era costume na época. Até ao momento, foi possível identificar o paradeiro de vinte e cinco peças: quatro estão no Museu Municipal Santos Rocha (Figueira da Foz), as quais foram alvo de estudo arqueometalúrgico; no Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (Lisboa) encontram-se mais vinte e uma, em curso de estudo. Como componentes fundamentais do presente trabalho destacam-se: a recolha e sistematização das informações referentes às peças; a caracterização da composição química das que se encontram naquela primeira instituição; a aproximação possível ao enquadramento espacial do seu contexto de deposição

Contributos para o estudo do depósito metálico de Espite (Ourém)

Trabajo presentado en el Colóquio: Santos Rocha, Arqueologia e Territórios da Figueira da Foz, celebrado en Figueira da Foz (Portugal), del 21 al 23 de noviembre de 2019O trabalho que se apresenta pretende contribuir para o estudo de conjunto do depósito metálico de Espite (Ourém). Trata-se de um achado excecional, não só na região envolvente, como em todo o território português, pela sua cronologia recuada (Calcolítico Final/ Bronze Antigo), mas igualmente por reunir 32 peças. Sendo este um estudo que se encontra em curso, optamos por divulgar os resultados de uma primeira etapa, de cariz mais historiográfico, que passou pela recolha e sistematização da informação dispersa na bibliografia e trabalho de campo, de modo a reconstruir o puzzle da trajetória das peças desde o momento do seu achado até aos dias de hoje

Heraldo Alavés : Diario independiente de la tarde: Año XIV Número 5091 - 1914 Mayo 08

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Cultura. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 200

New data on the Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age metallurgy in Central Portugal. The contribution of Vila do Touro (Sabugal, Guarda)

This paper focuses on the study of a group of metal artefacts recently recovered during the archaeological excavations in Vila do Touro (Central Portugal), i.e., 19 artefacts and a small metallic inclusion embedded in a pottery sherd. The objects have been analysed by an X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer to characterise the elemental composition of metal artefacts. A Scanning Electron Microscope with X-ray Microanalysis System and an optical microscope were used to observe and chemically characterise the metal inclusion in the pottery. The fragment of an ingot was also analysed by a multicollector Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer to address issues bound to the provenance of raw material. The results revealed different compositional patterns (pure copper, binary bronze, i.e., Cu+Sn, leaded bronzes, i.e., Cu+Sn+Pb, and gold), while pointing out the Ossa Morena region (Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula) as likely source of copper used to produce the ingot.Laboratory work was financed by FCT through the project UIDB/04449/2020 (HERCULES Laboratory)Peer reviewe

Using Covalent Dimers of Human Carbonic Anhydrase II To Model Bivalency in Immunoglobulins

This paper describes the development of a new bivalent system comprising synthetic dimers of carbonic anhydrase linked chemically through thiol groups of cysteine residues introduced by site-directed mutagenesis. These compounds serve as models with which to study the interaction of bivalent proteins with ligands presented at the surface of mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Monovalent carbonic anhydrase (CA) binds to benzenesulfonamide ligands presented on the surface of the SAM with K(d)(surf) = 89 nM. The synthetic bivalent proteins--inspired by the structure of immunoglobulins--bind bivalently to the sulfonamide-functionalized SAMs with low nanomolar avidities (K(d)(avidity,surf) = 1-3 nM); this difference represents a ~50-fold enhancement of bivalent over monovalent association. The paper describes dimers of CA having (i) different lengths of the covalent linker that joined the two proteins and (ii) different points of attachment of the linker to the protein (either near the active site (C133) or distal to the active site (C185)). Comparison of the thermodynamics of their interactions with SAMs presenting arylsulfonamide groups demonstrated that varying the length of the linker between the molecules of CA had virtually no effect on the rate of association, or on the avidity of these dimers with ligand-presenting surfaces. Varying the point of attachment of the linker between monomeric CA's also had almost no effect on the avidity of the dimers, although changing the point of attachment affected the rates of binding and unbinding. These observations indicate that the avidities of these bivalent proteins, and by inference the avidities of structurally similar bivalent proteins such as IgG, are unexpectedly insensitive to the structure of the linker connecting them.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog