Bostonia. Volume 11

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Genotyping of the Alzheimer's disease genome-wide association study index single nucleotide polymorphisms in the brains for dementia research cohort

The Brains for Dementia Research project is a recently established longitudinal cohort which aims to provide brain tissue for research purposes from neuropathologically defined samples. Here we present the findings from our analysis on the 19 established GWAS index SNPs for Alzheimer’s disease, in order to demonstrate if the BDR sample also displays association to these variants. A highly significant association of the APOE ɛ4 allele was identified (p = 3.99×10–12). Association tests for the 19 GWAS SNPs found that although no SNPs survive multiple testing, nominal significant findings were detected and concordance with the Lambert et al. GWAS meta-analysis was observed

D-cycloserine augmentation of exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and posttraumatic stress disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data

Importance: Whether and under which conditions D-cycloserine (DCS) augments the effects of exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and posttraumatic stress disorders is unclear. Objective: To clarify whether DCS is superior to placebo in augmenting the effects of cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and posttraumatic stress disorders and to evaluate whether antidepressants interact with DCS and the effect of potential moderating variables. Data Sources: PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to February 10, 2016. Reference lists of previous reviews and meta-analyses and reports of randomized clinical trials were also checked. Study Selection: Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were (1) double-blind randomized clinical trials of DCS as an augmentation strategy for exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy and (2) conducted in humans diagnosed as having specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Raw data were obtained from the authors and quality controlled. Data were ranked to ensure a consistent metric across studies (score range, 0-100). We used a 3-level multilevel model nesting repeated measures of outcomes within participants, who were nested within studies. Results: Individual participant data were obtained for 21 of 22 eligible trials, representing 1047 of 1073 eligible participants. When controlling for antidepressant use, participants receiving DCS showed greater improvement from pretreatment to posttreatment (mean difference, -3.62; 95% CI, -0.81 to -6.43; P = .01; d = -0.25) but not from pretreatment to midtreatment (mean difference, -1.66; 95% CI, -4.92 to 1.60; P = .32; d = -0.14) or from pretreatment to follow-up (mean difference, -2.98, 95% CI, -5.99 to 0.03; P = .05; d = -0.19). Additional analyses showed that participants assigned to DCS were associated with lower symptom severity than those assigned to placebo at posttreatment and at follow-up. Antidepressants did not moderate the effects of DCS. None of the prespecified patient-level or study-level moderators was associated with outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance: D-cycloserine is associated with a small augmentation effect on exposure-based therapy. This effect is not moderated by the concurrent use of antidepressants. Further research is needed to identify patient and/or therapy characteristics associated with DCS response.2018-05-0

Passing the Panda Standard: A TAD Off the Mark?

Tilapia, a tropical freshwater fish native to Africa, is an increasingly important global food commodity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a major environmental nongovernmental organization, has established stakeholder dialogues to formulate farm certification standards that promote ‘‘responsible’’ culture practices. As a preface to its ‘‘tilapia aquaculture dialogue,’’ the WWF for Nature commissioned a review of potential certification issues, later published as a peer-reviewed article. This article contends that both the review and the draft certification standards subsequently developed fail to adequately integrate critical factors governing the relative sustainability of tilapia production and thereby miss more significant issues related to resource-use efficiency and the appropriation of ecosystem space and services. This raises a distinct possibility that subsequent certification will promote intensive systems of tilapia production that are far less ecologically benign than existing widely practiced semiintensive alternatives. Given the likely future significance of this emergent standard, it is contended that a more holistic approach to certification is essential

Multiple reservoirs of volatiles in the Moon revealed by the isotopic composition of chlorine in lunar basalts

The isotopes of chlorine (37Cl and 35Cl) are highly fractionated in lunar samples compared to most other Solar System materials. Recently, the chlorine isotope signatures of lunar rocks have been attributed to large-scale degassing processes that occurred during the existence of a magma ocean. In this study we investigated how well a suite of lunar basalts, most of which have not previously been analyzed, conform to previous models. The Cl isotope compositions (δ37Cl (‰) = [(37Cl/35Clsample/37Cl/35ClSMOC)-1]×1000, where SMOC refers to standard mean ocean chloride) recorded range from ∼+7 to +14 ‰ (Apollo 15), +10 to +19 ‰ (Apollo 12), +9 to +15 ‰ (70017), +4 to +8 ‰ (MIL 05035), and +15 to +22 ‰ (Kalahari 009). The Cl isotopic data from the present study support the mixing trends previously reported by Boyce et al., 2015, Barnes et al., 2016, as the Cl isotopic composition of apatites are positively correlated with bulk-rock incompatible trace element abundances in the low-Ti basalts, inclusive of low-Ti and KREEP basalts. This trend has been interpreted as evidence that incompatible trace elements, including Cl, were concentrated in the urKREEP residual liquid of the lunar magma ocean, rather than the mantle cumulates, and that urKREEP Cl had a highly fractionated isotopic composition. The source regions for the basalts were thus created by variable mixing between the mantle (Cl-poor and relatively unfractionated) and urKREEP. The high-Ti basalts show much more variability in measured Cl isotope ratios and scatter around the trend formed by the low-Ti basalts. Most of the data for lunar meteorites also fits the mixing of volatiles in their sources, but Kalahari 009, which is highly depleted in incompatible trace elements, contains apatites with heavily fractionated Cl isotopic compositions. Given that Kalahari 009 is one of the oldest lunar basalts and ought to have been derived from very early-formed mantle cumulates, a heavy Cl isotopic signature is likely not related to its mantle source, but more likely to magmatic or secondary alteration processes, perhaps via impact-driven vapor metasomatism of the lunar crust

The Role of Information and Financial Reporting in Corporate Governance and Debt Contracting

We review recent literature on the role of financial reporting transparency in reducing governance-related agency conflicts among managers, directors, and shareholders, as well as in reducing agency conflicts between shareholders and creditors, and offer researchers some suggested avenues for future research. Key themes include the endogenous nature of debt contracts and governance mechanisms with respect to information asymmetry between contracting parties, the heterogeneous nature of the informational demands of contracting parties, and the heterogeneous nature of the resulting governance and debt contracts. We also emphasize the role of a commitment to financial reporting transparency in facilitating informal multiperiod contracts among managers, directors, shareholders, and creditors