Knowledge Mobilization, Citizen Science, and Education

While climate change project funders, community partners, and researchers are increasingly calling for robust knowledge mobilization plans, including knowledge translation and transfer, there are ongoing debates about how to design and measure the effectiveness of these efforts for specific target audiences. Climate Change S.O.S. – Save Our Syrup! is a knowledge mobilization program that brings high school students out to a working sugarbush in Ontario, Canada. This program was developed by drawing on the outdoor education expertise at the Mountsberg Conservation Area, forestry specialists’ consultation, and the project team’s work on previous community-based studies. Students also contribute to a citizen science project monitoring the health of the sugar maple ecosystem and learn about the impact of climate change on this ecosystem. Pretest and posttest surveys measured the knowledge mobilization program’s effectiveness on the students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. With 600 grade 9–12 participants in this project, this is one of the largest studies that the team could find that measures climate change knowledge mobilization effectiveness on high school students. Results indicate short-term positive changes in knowledge of climate change and maple syrup, and positive changes in students’ attitudes regarding their ability to lessen their impact on climate change, but no statistically significant longer-term change to behavior. After highlighting some of the key issues and concerns around designing three projects and measuring effectiveness, the paper outlines how the program was developed, its key results and limitations and lessons learned. We argue that although single, targeted knowledge mobilization efforts can be effective, longer-term, multi-pronged approaches are likely necessary to contribute to sustained behavioral change

Narrative Inquiry With Activity Systems: A Story About Net Neutrality

The goal of this article is to introduce activity systems as a methodological tool in narrative inquiry to gain a holistic understanding of socially shared experiences from an examination of documents. The research question was how can qualitative researchers use activity systems as a tool for engaging in narrative inquiry of socially shared experiences to uncover new meanings by constructing a story? In this article, we share a sample analysis of our experience relying on documents and media as a form of narrative to begin to understand the socially shared human activity associated with net neutrality and its potential impact on U.S. residents. We end this article with reflections of lessons learned from our activity systems guided story construction process

Inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier protects from excitotoxic neuronal death.

Glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, but under conditions of metabolic stress it can accumulate to excitotoxic levels. Although pharmacologic modulation of excitatory amino acid receptors is well studied, minimal consideration has been given to targeting mitochondrial glutamate metabolism to control neurotransmitter levels. Here we demonstrate that chemical inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) protects primary cortical neurons from excitotoxic death. Reductions in mitochondrial pyruvate uptake do not compromise cellular energy metabolism, suggesting neuronal metabolic flexibility. Rather, MPC inhibition rewires mitochondrial substrate metabolism to preferentially increase reliance on glutamate to fuel energetics and anaplerosis. Mobilizing the neuronal glutamate pool for oxidation decreases the quantity of glutamate released upon depolarization and, in turn, limits the positive-feedback cascade of excitotoxic neuronal injury. The finding links mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism to glutamatergic neurotransmission and establishes the MPC as a therapeutic target to treat neurodegenerative diseases characterized by excitotoxicity

Misuse made plain: Evaluating concerns about neuroscience in national security

In this open peer commentary, we categorize the possible “neuroscience in national security” definitions of misuse of science and identify which, if any, are uniquely presented by advances in neuroscience. To define misuse, we first define what we would consider appropriate use: the application of reasonably safe and effective technology, based on valid and reliable scientific research, to serve a legitimate end. This definition presents distinct opportunities for assessing misuse: misuse is the application of invalid or unreliable science, or is the use of reliable scientific methods to serve illegitimate ends. Ultimately, we conclude that while national security is often a politicized issue, assessing the state of scientific progress should not be

Manacled to Identity: Cosmopolitanism, Class, and ‘The Culture Concept’ in Stephen Crane

This article begins with a close reading of Stephen Crane’s short story ‘Manacled’ from 1900, which situates this rarely considered short work within the context of contemporary debates about realism. I then proceed to argue that many of the debates raised by the tale have an afterlife in our own era of American literary studies, which has frequently focused on questions of ‘identity’ and ‘culture’ in its reading of realism and naturalism to the exclusion of the importance of cosmopolitan discourses of diffusion and exchange across national borders. I then offer a brief reading of Crane’s novel George’s Mother, which follows Walter Benn Michaels in suggesting that the recent critical attention paid to particularities of cultural difference in American studies have come to conflate ideas of class and social position with ideas of culture in ways that have ultimately obscured the presence of genuine historical inequalities in US society. In order to challenge this critical commonplace, I situate Crane’s work within a history of transatlantic cosmopolitanism associated with the ideas of Franz Boas and Matthew Arnold to demonstrate the ways in which Crane’s narratives sought out an experience of the universal within their treatments of the particular

Altered Host Immunity, Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type I Replication, and Risk of Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma: A Prospective Analysis from the ATL Cohort Consortium

Background: Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a rare and often fatal outcome of infection with human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). Altered host immunity in HTLV-I carriers has been postulated as a risk factor for ATL, but is not well understood. Methods: We prospectively examined well-validated serologic markers of HTLV-I pathogenesis and host immunity in 53 incident ATL cases and 150 carefully matched asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers from eight population-based studies in Japan, Jamaica, the United States and Brazil. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression, conditioned on the matching factors (cohort/race, age, sex, and sample collection year), to evaluate the biomarkers’ associations with ATL in all subjects and by years (≤5, >5) from blood draw to ATL diagnosis. Results: In the pooled population, above-median soluble interleukin-2-receptor-alpha levels (sIL2R, v. ≤ median; odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI)=4.08, 1.47-11.29) and anti-Tax seropositivity (anti-Tax; OR, 95% CI=2.97, 1.15-7.67), which indicate T cell activation and HTLV-I replication, respectively, were independently associated with an increased ATL risk. Above-median total immunoglobulin E levels (v. ≤ median; OR, 95% CI=0.45, 0.19-1.06), which indicate type 2 (B cell) activation, predicted a lower ATL risk. The sIL2R and anti-Tax associations with ATL were stronger in samples collected ≤5 years pre-diagnosis. Conclusions: The biomarker profile predictive of ATL risk suggests a role for heightened T cell activation and HTLV-I replication and diminished type 2 immunity in the etiology of ATL in HTLV-I carriers. Translation of these findings to clinical risk prediction or early ATL detection requires further investigation. Acknowledgements: This abstract is presented on behalf of the ATL Cohort Consortium

DNA methylation and mRNA expression of SYN III, a candidate gene for schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The synapsin III (<it>SYN III</it>) gene on chromosome 22q is a candidate gene for schizophrenia susceptibility due to its chromosome location, neurological function, expression patterns and functional polymorphisms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This research has established the mRNA expression of <it>SYN III </it>in 22 adult human brain regions as well as the methylation specificity in the closest CpG island of this gene. The methylation specificity studied in 31 brain regions (from a single individual) was also assessed in 51 human blood samples (representing 20 people affected with schizophrenia and 31 normal controls) including a pair of monozygotic twin discordant for schizophrenia and 2 non-human primates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results show that the cytosine methylation in this genomic region is 1) restricted to cytosines in CpG dinucleotides 2) similar in brain regions and blood and 3) appears conserved in primate evolution. Two cytosines (cytosine 8 and 20) localized as the CpG dinucleotide are partially methylated in all brain regions studied. The methylation of these sites in schizophrenia and control blood samples was variable. While cytosine 8 was partially methylated in all samples, the distribution of partial to complete methylation at the cytosine 20 was 22:9 in controls as compared to 18:2 in schizophrenia (p = 0.82). Also, there is no difference in methylation between the affected and unaffected member of a monozygotic twin pair.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The variation in <it>SYN III </it>methylation studied is 1) not related to schizophrenia in the population sample or a monozygotic twin pair discordant for schizophrenia and 2) not related to the mRNA level of <it>SYN IIIa </it>in different human brain regions.</p

New Models for Large Prospective Studies: Is There a Better Way?

Large prospective cohort studies are critical for identifying etiologic factors for disease, but they require substantial long-term research investment. Such studies can be conducted as multisite consortia of academic medical centers, combinations of smaller ongoing studies, or a single large site such as a dominant regional health-care provider. Still another strategy relies upon centralized conduct of most or all aspects, recruiting through multiple temporary assessment centers. This is the approach used by a large-scale national resource in the United Kingdom known as the “UK Biobank,” which completed recruitment/examination of 503,000 participants between 2007 and 2010 within budget and ahead of schedule. A key lesson from UK Biobank and similar studies is that large studies are not simply small studies made large but, rather, require fundamentally different approaches in which “process” expertise is as important as scientific rigor. Embedding recruitment in a structure that facilitates outcome determination, utilizing comprehensive and flexible information technology, automating biospecimen processing, ensuring broad consent, and establishing essentially autonomous leadership with appropriate oversight are all critical to success. Whether and how these approaches may be transportable to the United States remain to be explored, but their success in studies such as UK Biobank makes a compelling case for such explorations to begin

Early acquisition and high nasopharyngeal co-colonisation by Streptococcus pneumoniae and three respiratory pathogens amongst Gambian new-borns and infants

BACKGROUND: Although Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis are important causes of invasive and mucosal bacterial disease among children, co-carriage with Streptococcus pneumoniae during infancy has not been determined in West Africa. METHODS: Species specific PCR was applied to detect each microbe using purified genomic DNA from 498 nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs collected from 30 Gambian neonates every two weeks from 0 to 6 months and bi-monthly up to 12 months. RESULTS: All infants carried S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis at several time points during infancy. S.pneumoniae co-colonized the infant nasopharynx with at least one other pathogen nine out of ten times. There was early colonization of the newborns and neonates, the average times to first detection were 5, 7, 3 and 14 weeks for S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis and S. aureus respectively. The prevalence of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis increased among the neonates and exceeded 80% by 13, 15 and 23 weeks respectively. In contrast, the prevalence of S. aureus decreased from 50% among the newborns to 20% amongst nine-week old neonates. S. pneumoniae appeared to have a strong positive association with H. influenzae (OR 5.03; 95% CI 3.02, 8.39; p<0.01) and M. catarrhalis (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.29; p<0.01) but it was negatively associated with S. aureus (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.30, 0.94; p=0.03). CONCLUSION: This study shows early acquisition and high co-carriage of three important respiratory pathogens with S. pneumoniae in the nasopharyngeal mucosa among Gambian neonates and infants. This has important potential implications for the aetiology of respiratory polymicrobial infections, biofilm formation and vaccine strategies