Evolving Advocacy: The Society of Georgia Archivists and the Georgia Archives Budget Crisis

This paper describes the evolution of outreach and advocacy efforts conducted by the Society of Georgia Archivists before and in response to the 2012 budget crisis at the Georgia Archives

Association between breastfeeding support and breastfeeding rates in the UK: a comparison of late preterm and term infants.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between breastfeeding support and breastfeeding among late preterm (gestation 34-36 weeks) and term (gestation ≥37 weeks) infants. METHODS: Secondary analysis of the UK 2010 Infant Feeding Survey. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of breastfeeding support with breastfeeding at 10 days and 6 weeks in late preterm and term infants. RESULTS: The study included 14,525 term and 579 late preterm infants. A total of 11,729 infants initiated breastfeeding (11,292 (81.1%) term, 437 (79.4%) late preterm infants, p=0.425). Of these, 9230 (84.3%) term and 365 (85.6%) late preterm infants were breastfeeding at 10 days (p=0.586); of these 7547 (82.0%) term and 281 (75.4%) late preterm infants were still breastfeeding at 6 weeks (p=0.012). Mothers who reported receiving contact details for breastfeeding support groups had a higher likelihood of breastfeeding late preterm (adjusted ORs, aOR 3.14, 95% CI 1.40 to 7.04) and term infants (aOR 2.24, 95% CI 1.86 to 2.68) at 10 days and term infants at 6 weeks (aOR 1.83, 95% CI 1.51 to 2.22). Those who reported that they did not receive enough help with breastfeeding in hospital had a lower likelihood of breastfeeding late preterm at 10 days and term infants at 10 days and 6 weeks, compared to those who reported having enough help. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving sufficient help with breastfeeding in hospital and the contact details for breastfeeding support groups is associated with breastfeeding term infants up to 6 weeks and late preterm infants at 10 days

Am I repeating myself? Determining the repetitive landscape of the pig X chromosome

Mammalian sex chromosomes evolved from a homologous pair of autosomes via the acquisition of a major sex determining gene. This event led to the suppression of recombination between the chromosomes and consequently their independent evolution. Both X and Y have been observed to accumulate amplified gene families in mice and humans, but it remains unclear to what extent this is true in other mammalian species. The pig X chromosome was recently sequenced to a high quality and in this study, it was investigated to determine the presence and extent of potential amplicons. LASTZ was used to align the pig X sequence to itself and identify regions of similarity that could represent ampliconic sequences. Further analysis revealed many of the similarities to be interspersed along the chromosome, and in some cases particularly clustered around the centromere. This distribution of hits suggests many of the similarities to be the result of known repetitive elements which commonly cluster within centromeric and pericentromeric regions. There were also some regions showing segmental duplications and gene duplications. Further investigation of the hits through NCBI BLAST revealed them to be fragments of LINE-1 (Long Interspersed Nuclear Element 1) retrotransposons, orthologues of duplicated genes, and uncharacterised loci. Mammalian X chromosomes are often enriched with LINE-1s which are thought to play a role in X-inactivation and controlling gene expression. Some of the duplicated genes are of potential interest for further analysis as their function is unknown. At this stage, no independent amplicons have been found in the pig X chromosome, in contrast to what has been observed in humans and mice. However, the current assembly contains gaps between contigs and unmasked repeats which may obscure where potential amplicons might be found. The data from this study can be used to improve the current annotation of the pig X chromosome

Gene expression of endangered coral (Orbicella spp.) in flower garden banks National Marine Sanctuary after Hurricane Harvey

About 190 km south of the Texas–Louisiana border, the East and West Flower Garden Banks (FGB) have maintained > 50% coral cover with infrequent and minor incidents of disease or bleaching since monitoring began in the 1970s. However, a mortality event, affecting 5.6 ha (2.6% of the area) of the East FGB, occurred in late July 2016 and coincided with storm-generated freshwater runoff extending offshore and over the reef system. To capture the immediate effects of storm-driven freshwater runoff on coral and symbiont physiology, we leveraged the heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Harvey in late August 2017 by sampling FGB corals at two time points: September 2017, when surface water salinity was reduced (∼34 ppt); and 1 month later when salinity had returned to typical levels (∼36 ppt in October 2017). Tissue samples (N = 47) collected midday were immediately preserved for gene expression profiling from two congeneric coral species (Orbicella faveolata and Orbicella franksi) from the East and West FGB to determine the physiological consequences of storm-derived runoff. In the coral, differences between host species and sampling time points accounted for the majority of differentially expressed genes. Gene ontology enrichment for genes differentially expressed immediately after Hurricane Harvey indicated increases in cellular oxidative stress responses. Although tissue loss was not observed on FGB reefs following Hurricane Harvey, our results suggest that poor water quality following this storm caused FGB corals to experience sub-lethal stress. We also found dramatic expression differences across sampling time points in the coral’s algal symbiont, Breviolum minutum. Some of these differentially expressed genes may be involved in the symbionts’ response to changing environments, including a group of differentially expressed post-transcriptional RNA modification genes. In this study, we cannot disentangle the effects of reduced salinity from the collection time point, so these expression patterns could also be related to seasonality. These findings highlight the urgent need for continued monitoring of these reef systems to establish a baseline for gene expression of healthy corals in the FGB system across seasons, as well as the need for integrated solutions to manage stormwater runoff in the Gulf of Mexico.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00672/fullPublished versionPublished versio

Community involvement to maximise research success in Torres Strait Islander populations: more than ticking the boxes

Context: Health research is important to effectively address the health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. However, research within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has not always been conducted ethically or with tangible benefits to those involved. Justifiably then, people may be reticent to welcome researchers into their communities. Genuine commitment to community consultation, the fostering of partnerships and collaborative approaches maximise successful outcomes and research translation in these communities. Issue: Despite guidelines existing to ensure the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are met through any research involving them, non-Indigenous researchers may not be fully aware of the complexities involved in applying these guidelines. This paper explores how a team of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous researchers understood and applied the guidelines during a three-year dementia prevalence study in the Torres Strait. Their reflections on the practicalities involved in conducting ethically sound and culturally appropriate research are discussed. Lessons learned: Having a deep understanding of the ethical principles of research with Torres Strait communities is more than just ticking the boxes on ethics approvals. Genuine community involvement is paramount in conducting research with the communities and only then will research be relevant to community needs, culturally appropriate and facilitate the translation of knowledge into practice

Aging well for Indigenous peoples: a scoping review

As life expectancy increases for Indigenous populations, so does the number of older adults with complex, chronic health conditions and age-related geriatric syndromes. Many of these conditions are associated with modifiable lifestyle factors that, if addressed, may improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples as they age. If models of healthy aging are to be promoted within health services, a clearer understanding of what aging well means for Indigenous peoples is needed. Indigenous peoples hold a holistic worldview of health and aging that likely differs from Western models. The aims of this review were to: investigate the literature that exists and where the gaps are, on aging well for Indigenous peoples; assess the quality of the existing literature on Indigenous aging; identify the domains of aging well for Indigenous peoples; and identify the enablers and barriers to aging well for Indigenous peoples. A systematic search of online databases, book chapters, gray literature, and websites identified 32 eligible publications on Indigenous aging. Reflexive thematic analysis identified four major themes on aging well: (1) achieving holistic health and wellbeing; (2) maintaining connections; (3) revealing resilience, humor, and a positive attitude; and (4) facing the challenges. Findings revealed that aging well is a holistic concept enabled by spiritual, physical, and mental wellbeing and where reliance on connections to person, place, and culture is central. Participants who demonstrated aging well took personal responsibility, adapted to change, took a positive attitude to life, and showed resilience. Conversely, barriers to aging well arose from the social determinants of health such as lack of access to housing, transport, and adequate nutrition. Furthermore, the impacts of colonization such as loss of language and culture and ongoing grief and trauma all challenged the ability to age well. Knowing what aging well means for Indigenous communities can facilitate health services to provide culturally appropriate and effective care