1,430 research outputs found
Understanding stigma and suicidality among gay men living with HIV: A photovoice project
Gay men living with HIV (GMHIV) are at relatively high risk for suicide. To inform tailored suicide prevention interventions, we conducted a photovoice study with 22 GMHIV with a history of suicidality. Our study findings revealed three discrete but connected themes characterizing suicidality among GMHIV: first, HIV stigma featured prominently in participants' narratives who described accumulating experiences of prejudice that triggered their hopelessness. Second, many participants perceived their HIV as a personal failure and felt shamed and blamed, heightening men's suicidality. Third, to avoid disgrace, men withdrew from social interactions, resulting in isolation. However, the subsequent dearth of social interaction weighed heavily, as men admitted longing for social, sexual and romantic connections. All themes contributed in complex ways to participants' experiences of suicidality. The findings affirm the need for tailored suicide prevention efforts focused on promoting social connectedness and public health efforts to de-stigmatize HIV and mental illness
The role of BoFLC2 in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.) reproductive development
In agricultural species that are sexually propagated or whose marketable organ is a reproductive structure, management of the flowering process is critical. Inflorescence development in cauliflower is particularly complex, presenting unique challenges for those seeking to predict and manage flowering time. In this study, an integrated physiological and molecular approach was used to clarify the environmental control of cauliflower reproductive development at the molecular level. A functional allele of BoFLC2 was identified for the first time in an annual brassica, along with an allele disrupted by a frameshift mutation (boflc2). In a segregating F2 population derived from a cross between late-flowering (BoFLC2) and early-flowering (boflc2) lines, this gene behaved in a dosage-dependent manner and accounted for up to 65% of flowering time variation. Transcription of BoFLC genes was reduced by vernalization, with the floral integrator BoFT responding inversely. Overall expression of BoFT was significantly higher in early-flowering boflc2 lines, supporting the idea that BoFLC2 plays a key role in maintaining the vegetative state. A homologue of Arabidopsis VIN3 was isolated for the first time in a brassica crop species and was up-regulated by two days of vernalization, in contrast to findings in Arabidopsis where prolonged exposure to cold was required to elicit up-regulation. The correlations observed between gene expression and flowering time in controlled-environment experiments were validated with gene expression analyses of cauliflowers grown outdoors under 'natural' vernalizing conditions, indicating potential for transcript levels of flowering genes to form the basis of predictive assays for curd initiation and flowering time
The role of BoFLC2 in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.) reproductive development
In agricultural species that are sexually propagated or whose marketable organ is a reproductive structure, management of the flowering process is critical. Inflorescence development in cauliflower is particularly complex, presenting unique challenges for those seeking to predict and manage flowering time. In this study, an integrated physiological and molecular approach was used to clarify the environmental control of cauliflower reproductive development at the molecular level. A functional allele of BoFLC2 was identified for the first time in an annual brassica, along with an allele disrupted by a frameshift mutation (boflc2). In a segregating F2 population derived from a cross between late-flowering (BoFLC2) and early-flowering (boflc2) lines, this gene behaved in a dosage-dependent manner and accounted for up to 65% of flowering time variation. Transcription of BoFLC genes was reduced by vernalization, with the floral integrator BoFT responding inversely. Overall expression of BoFT was significantly higher in early-flowering boflc2 lines, supporting the idea that BoFLC2 plays a key role in maintaining the vegetative state. A homologue of Arabidopsis VIN3 was isolated for the first time in a brassica crop species and was up-regulated by two days of vernalization, in contrast to findings in Arabidopsis where prolonged exposure to cold was required to elicit up-regulation. The correlations observed between gene expression and flowering time in controlled-environment experiments were validated with gene expression analyses of cauliflowers grown outdoors under 'natural' vernalizing conditions, indicating potential for transcript levels of flowering genes to form the basis of predictive assays for curd initiation and flowering time
The Mass-Size Relation from Clouds to Cores. I. A new Probe of Structure in Molecular Clouds
We use a new contour-based map analysis technique to measure the mass and
size of molecular cloud fragments continuously over a wide range of spatial
scales (0.05 < r / pc < 10), i.e., from the scale of dense cores to those of
entire clouds. The present paper presents the method via a detailed exploration
of the Perseus Molecular Cloud. Dust extinction and emission data are combined
to yield reliable scale-dependent measurements of mass.
This scale-independent analysis approach is useful for several reasons.
First, it provides a more comprehensive characterization of a map (i.e., not
biased towards a particular spatial scale). Such a lack of bias is extremely
useful for the joint analysis of many data sets taken with different spatial
resolution. This includes comparisons between different cloud complexes.
Second, the multi-scale mass-size data constitutes a unique resource to derive
slopes of mass-size laws (via power-law fits). Such slopes provide singular
constraints on large-scale density gradients in clouds.Comment: accepted to ApJ; references updated in new versio
Turbulence driven by outflow-blown cavities in the molecular cloud of NGC 1333
Outflows from young stellar objects have been identified as a possible source
of turbulence in molecular clouds. To investigate the relationship between
outflows, cloud dynamics and turbulence, we compare the kinematics of the
molecular gas associated with NGC 1333, traced in 13CO(1-0), with the
distribution of young stellar objects (YSOs) within. We find a velocity
dispersion of ~ 1-1.6 km/s in 13CO that does not significantly vary across the
cloud, and is uncorrelated with the number of nearby young stellar outflows
identified from optical and submillimeter observations. However, from velocity
channel maps we identify about 20 cavities or depressions in the 13CO intensity
of scales > 0.1-0.2 pc and velocity widths 1-3 km/s. The cavities exhibit limb
brightened rims in both individual velocity channel maps and position velocity
diagrams, suggesting that they are slowly expanding. We interpret these
cavities to be remnants of past YSO outflow activity: If these cavities are
presently empty, they would fill in on time scales of a million years. This can
exceed the lifetime of a YSO outflow phase, or the transit time of the central
star through the cavity, explaining the the absence of any clear correlation
between the cavities and YSO outflows. We find that the momentum and energy
deposition associated with the expansion of the cavities is sufficient to power
the turbulence in the cloud. In this way we conclude that the cavities are an
important intermediary step between the conversion of YSO outflow energy and
momentum into cloud turbulent motions.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Check out
http://astro.pas.rochester.edu/~aquillen/coolpics.html for channel map and
PosVel movies of N133
âImposter participantsâ in online qualitative research, a new and increasing threat to data integrity?
Letter to the Editor: Health Expectation
Genetic association at the 9p21 glaucoma locus contributes to sex bias in normal-tension glaucoma
Purpose: Many genome-wide association studies have identified common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the 9p21 glaucoma locus (CDKN2B/CDKN2B-AS1) to be significantly associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), with association being stronger in normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and advanced glaucoma. We aimed to determine whether any observed differences in genetic association at the 9p21 locus are influenced by sex. Methods: Sex was assessed as a risk factor for POAG for 2241 glaucoma participants from the Australian and New Zealand Registry of Advanced Glaucoma, the Glaucoma Inheritance Study in Tasmania, and the Flinders Medical Centre. A total of 3176 controls were drawn from the Blue Mountains Eye Study and South Australia: 1523 advanced POAG and 718 nonadvanced POAG cases were genotyped along with 3176 controls. We selected 13 SNPs at the 9p21 locus, and association results were subanalyszd by sex for high-tension glaucoma (HTG) and NTG. Odds ratios (ORs) between sexes were compared. Results: A sex bias was present within advanced NTG cases (57.1% female versus 42.9% male, P = 0.0026). In all POAG cases, the strongest associated SNP at 9p21 was rs1063192 (OR, 1.43; P = 4 Ă 10â»Âčâž). This association was stronger in females (OR, 1.5; P = 5 Ă 10â»ÂčÂł) than in males (OR, 1.35; P = 7 Ă 10â»â·), with a statistically significant difference in female to male OR comparison (P = 1.0 Ă 10â»ÂČ). An NTG to HTG subanalysis yielded statistically significant results only in females (OR, 1.63; P = 1.5 Ă 10â»âŽ) but not in males (OR, 1.15; P = 2.8 Ă 10â»Âč), with a statistically significant difference in female to male OR comparison (P = 1.4 Ă 10â»âŽ). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that female sex is a risk factor for developing advanced NTG. The stronger genetic signals at the 9p21 locus among females may contribute at least in part to the observed sex bias for NTG.Soo Khai Ng, Kathryn P. Burdon, Jude T. Fitzgerald, Tiger Zhou, Rhys Fogarty, Emmanuelle Souzeau, John Landers, Richard A. Mills, Robert J. Casson, Bronwyn Ridge, Stuart L. Graham, Alex W. Hewitt, David A. Mackey, Paul R. Healey, Jie Jin Wang, Paul Mitchell, Stuart MacGregor, and Jamie E. Crai
Spitzer characterisation of dust in an anomalous emission region: the Perseus cloud
Anomalous microwave emission is known to exist in the Perseus cloud. One of
the most promising candidates to explain this excess of emission is electric
dipole radiation from rapidly rotating very small dust grains, commonly
referred to as spinning dust. Photometric data obtained with the Spitzer Space
Telescope have been reprocessed and used in conjunction with the dust emission
model DUSTEM to characterise the properties of the dust within the cloud. This
analysis has allowed us to constrain spatial variations in the strength of the
interstellar radiation field (), the mass abundances of the
PAHs and VSGs relative to the BGs (Y and Y), the
column density of hydrogen (N) and the equilibrium dust
temperature (T). The parameter maps of Y,
Y and are the first of their kind to be
produced for the Perseus cloud, and we used these maps to investigate the
physical conditions in which anomalous emission is observed. We find that in
regions of anomalous emission the strength of the ISRF, and consequently the
equilibrium temperature of the dust, is enhanced while there is no significant
variation in the abundances of the PAHs and the VSGs or the column density of
hydrogen. We interpret these results as an indication that the enhancement in
might be affecting the properties of the small
stochastically heated dust grains resulting in an increase in the spinning dust
emission observed at 33 GHz. This is the first time that such an investigation
has been performed, and we believe that this type of analysis creates a new
perspective in the field of anomalous emission studies, and represents a
powerful new tool for constraining spinning dust models.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Depression at Work, Authenticity in Question: Experiencing, Concealing and Revealing
Australia and the UK have both introduced policies to protect employees who experience mental illness, including depression. However, a better understanding of the issues workers face (e.g. sense of moral failure) is needed for the provision of appropriate and beneficial support. We analysed 73 interviews from the UK and Australia where narratives of depression and work intersected. Participants encountered difficulties in being (and performing as if) âauthenticâ at work, with depression contributing to confusions about the self. The diffuse post-1960s imperative to âbe yourselfâ is experienced in conflicting ways: While some participants sought support from managers and colleagues (e.g. sick leave, back to work plans), many others put on a façade in an attempt to perform the âwellâ and âauthenticâ employee. We outline the contradictory forces at play for participants when authenticity and visibility are expected, yet moral imperatives to be good (healthy) employees are normative
Ethical and methodological issues in engaging young people living in poverty with participatory research methods
This paper discusses the methodological and ethical issues arising from a project that focused on conducting a qualitative study using participatory techniques with children and young people living in disadvantage. The main aim of the study was to explore the impact of poverty on children and young people's access to public and private services. The paper is based on the author's perspective of the first stage of the fieldwork from the project. It discusses the ethical implications of involving children and young people in the research process, in particular issues relating to access and recruitment, the role of young people's advisory groups, use of visual data and collection of data in young people's homes. The paper also identifies some strategies for addressing the difficulties encountered in relation to each of these aspects and it considers the benefits of adopting participatory methods when conducting research with children and young people
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