(Dis)Placed Urban Histories: Combining Digital Humanities Pedagogy and Community Engagement

The course “(Dis)Placed Urban Histories” has been offered each spring since 2015 at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and brings a historian’s perspective to investigating the impacts of gentrification and urban planning strategies in rapidly changing communities in New York City. During the 2016 and 2017 course iterations, Professor Rebecca Amato, collaborated with librarian, Zach Coble, to create online digital exhibits to showcase the students’ fieldwork and to create a resource for participating community partners. While the faculty-library partnership was successful in creating a digital humanities pedagogy that helped students build methodological and technical skills, the process also revealed shortcomings about working with communities with low access to computers or with aging populations with few technical skills

Credibility of Low-Strength Static Magnet Therapy as an Attention Control Intervention for a Randomized Controlled Study of CranioSacral Therapy for Migraine Headaches

Developing valid control groups that generate similar perceptions and expectations to experimental complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments can be challenging. The perceived credibility of treatment and outcome expectancy often contributes to positive clinical responses to CAM therapies, thereby confounding efficacy data. As part of a clinical feasibility study, credibility and expectancy data were obtained from subjects suffering from migraine who received either CranioSacral therapy (CST) or an attention-control, sham, and low-strength magnet (LSSM) intervention

Mindfulness for irritable bowel syndrome: protocol development for a controlled clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional bowel disorder with symptoms of abdominal pain and disturbed defecation experienced by 10% of U.S. adults, results in significant disability, impaired quality of life, and health-care burden. Conventional medical care focusing on pharmacological approaches, diet, and lifestyle management has been partially effective in controlling symptoms. Behavioral treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis, are promising. This paper describes an on-going feasibility study to assess the efficacy of mindfulness training, a behavioral treatment involving directing and sustaining attention to present-moment experience, for the treatment of IBS.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The study design involves randomization of adult women with IBS according to Rome II criteria, to either an eight-week mindfulness training group (based on a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction [MBSR] format) or a previously validated IBS social-support group as an attention-control condition. The primary hypothesis is that, compared to Support Group participants, those in the Mindfulness Program will demonstrate significant improvement in IBS symptoms as measured by the IBS Symptom Severity Scale <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp>.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>214 individuals have been screened for eligibility, of whom 148 were eligible for the study. Of those, 87 were enrolled, with 21 withdrawing after having given consent. 66 have completed or are in the process of completing the interventions. It is feasible to undertake a rigorous randomized clinical trial of mindfulness training for people with IBS, using a standardized MBSR protocol adapted for those experiencing IBS, compared to a control social-support group previously utilized in IBS studies.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT00680693</p

Shifting stoichiometry: Long-term trends in stream-dissolved organic matter reveal altered C:N ratios due to history of atmospheric acid deposition

Este artículo contiene 17 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 tablas.Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) are important energy and nutrient sources for aquatic ecosystems. In many northern temperate, freshwater systems DOC has increased in the past 50 years. Less is known about how changes in DOC may vary across latitudes, and whether changes in DON track those of DOC. Here, we present long-term DOC and DON data from 74 streams distributed across seven sites in biomes ranging from the tropics to northern boreal forests with varying histories of atmospheric acid deposition. For each stream, we examined the temporal trends of DOC and DON concentrations and DOC:DON molar ratios. While some sites displayed consistent positive or negative trends in stream DOC and DON concentrations, changes in direction or magnitude were inconsistent at regional or local scales. DON trends did not always track those of DOC, though DOC:DON ratios increased over time for ~30% of streams. Our results indicate that the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool is experiencing fundamental changes due to the recovery from atmospheric acid deposition. Changes in DOC:DON stoichiometry point to a shifting energynutrient balance in many aquatic ecosystems. Sustained changes in the character of DOM can have major implications for stream metabolism, biogeochemical processes, food webs, and drinking water quality (including disinfection by-products). Understanding regional and global variation in DOC and DON concentrations is important for developing realistic models and watershed management protocols to effectively target mitigation efforts aimed at bringing DOM flux and nutrient enrichment under control.National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Grant/Award Number: 1016163, 1019522 and 1022291; Natural Environment Research Council, Grant/Award Number: NE/K010689/1; NSF EPSCoR, Grant/ Award Number: EPS-1929148; Division of Environmental Biology, Grant/ Award Number: 1545288 and 1556603; European Regional Development Fund, Grant/Award Number: RTI2018-094521- B-100 and RYC-2017-22643Peer reviewe

Low omega-6 vs. low omega-6 plus high omega-3 dietary intervention for Chronic Daily Headache: Protocol for a randomized clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Targeted analgesic dietary interventions are a promising strategy for alleviating pain and improving quality of life in patients with persistent pain syndromes, such as chronic daily headache (CDH). High intakes of the omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA) may promote physical pain by increasing the abundance, and subsequent metabolism, of LA and AA in immune and nervous system tissues. Here we describe methodology for an ongoing randomized clinical trial comparing the metabolic and clinical effects of a low n-6, average n-3 PUFA diet, to the effects of a low n-6 plus high n-3 PUFA diet, in patients with CDH. Our primary aim is to determine if: A) both diets reduce n-6 PUFAs in plasma and erythrocyte lipid pools, compared to baseline; and B) the low n-6 plus high n-3 diet produces a greater decline in n-6 PUFAs, compared to the low n-6 diet alone. Secondary clinical outcomes include headache-specific quality-of-life, and headache frequency and intensity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Adults meeting the International Classification of Headache Disorders criteria for CDH are included. After a 6-week baseline phase, participants are randomized to a low n-6 diet, or a low n-6 plus high n-3 diet, for 12 weeks. Foods meeting nutrient intake targets are provided for 2 meals and 2 snacks per day. A research dietitian provides intensive dietary counseling at 2-week intervals. Web-based intervention materials complement dietitian advice. Blood and clinical outcome data are collected every 4 weeks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Subject recruitment and retention has been excellent; 35 of 40 randomized participants completed the 12-week intervention. Preliminary blinded analysis of composite data from the first 20 participants found significant reductions in erythrocyte n-6 LA, AA and %n-6 in HUFA, and increases in n-3 EPA, DHA and the omega-3 index, indicating adherence.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/(NCT01157208)">(NCT01157208)</a></p

Gradients of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment alter N Composition and DOM stoichiometry in freshwater ecosystems

Plain language summary Ammonium and nitrate in freshwaters have received considerable attention due to their clear ecological and health effects. A comprehensive assessment of N in freshwaters that includes DON is lacking. Including DON in studies of surface water chemistry is important because it can cause eutrophication and certain forms can be rapidly removed by microbial communities. Here, we document how elevated levels of TDN impact the concentrations and relative proportions of all three forms of dissolved N and the stoichiometry of DOM. Our results suggest that human activities fundamentally alter the composition of the dissolved nitrogen pool and the stoichiometry of DOM. Results also highlight feedbacks between the C and N cycles in freshwater ecosystems that are poorly studied.A comprehensive cross-biome assessment of major nitrogen (N) species that includes dissolved organic N (DON) is central to understanding interactions between inorganic nutrients and organic matter in running waters. Here, we synthesize stream water N chemistry across biomes and find that the composition of the dissolved N pool shifts from highly heterogeneous to primarily comprised of inorganic N, in tandem with dissolved organic matter (DOM) becoming more N-rich, in response to nutrient enrichment from human disturbances. We identify two critical thresholds of total dissolved N (TDN) concentrations where the proportions of organic and inorganic N shift. With low TDN concentrations (0–1.3 mg/L N), the dominant form of N is highly variable, and DON ranges from 0% to 100% of TDN. At TDN concentrations above 2.8 mg/L, inorganic N dominates the N pool and DON rarely exceeds 25% of TDN. This transition to inorganic N dominance coincides with a shift in the stoichiometry of the DOM pool, where DOM becomes progressively enriched in N and DON concentrations are less tightly associated with concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). This shift in DOM stoichiometry (defined as DOC:DON ratios) suggests that fundamental changes in the biogeochemical cycles of C and N in freshwater ecosystems are occurring across the globe as human activity alters inorganic N and DOM sources and availability. Alterations to DOM stoichiometry are likely to have important implications for both the fate of DOM and its role as a source of N as it is transported downstream to the coastal ocean

[Avian cytogenetics goes functional] Third report on chicken genes and chromosomes 2015

High-density gridded libraries of large-insert clones using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and other vectors are essential tools for genetic and genomic research in chicken and other avian species... Taken together, these studies demonstrate that applications of large-insert clones and BAC libraries derived from birds are, and will continue to be, effective tools to aid high-throughput and state-of-the-art genomic efforts and the important biological insight that arises from them

Theory to Practice: Building Family Capacity from Paper to Mobile App for Early Intervention Families

Theory to Practice: Building Family Capacity from Paper to Mobile App for Early Intervention Familie