What symptoms of disordered gambling, disordered eating, anxiety, and depression co-occur? The explanatory power of network analysis

An abstract (not to exceed 200 words) Disordered gamblers often exhibit comorbid psychiatric disorders, however, little is known about how or why these disorders co-occur. We posit that comorbidity is likely the result of one or more symptoms of disordered gambling being strongly associated with one or more symptoms of other disorders. To test this idea, we conducted a network analysis to identify relations between individual symptoms of disordered gambling, disordered eating, anxiety, and depression in a representative sample of Canadians from the Bay of Quinte region of Ontario (N=4121). Results indicated that chasing one’s losses was a central symptom in the disordered gambling network. Moreover, it connected to compensatory purging behavior in the disordered eating network. Furthermore, the disordered gambling and depression symptom networks were related indirectly though the anxiety symptom network. More specifically, the disordered gambling symptom pertaining to the need to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling of excitement was associated with the anxiety symptom pertaining to excessive worrying and difficulty stopping to do so. In turn, excessive worrying was connected to the depression symptom pertaining to feeling sad, down, or blue. This research suggests a need to focus on individual symptoms when examining the interrelation among disorders. Word count = 199 A clear statement of the implications of the material to be presented, i.e., the “so what?” of the presentation (not to exceed 50 words) The results make a unique theoretical contribution to the gambling studies field in terms of understanding the core symptom(s) underlying disordered gambling and the specific symptoms that connect disordered gambling with other co-occurring disorders. These findings have basic and applied significance for the treatment of disordered gambling and comorbid conditions. Word count = 5

Gambling Digital Tools Across the Player Spectrum: Promising Practices and Future Opportunities

In our technology-focused culture, the supply and demand of digital information and support has skyrocketed. In the gambling field specifically, the number and breadth of available tools for the provision of support and information have increased greatly in the last few years. However, questions exist around the appropriateness, effectiveness, and implications of gambling-focused digital tools. The current program of work focuses on answering the question: How can technology be used to deliver information and support to those across the player continuum of gambling involvement and harm? To this end, we first describe the current ecosystem of digital tools (i.e., technology features, online tools, and apps) for primary prevention among those at no-to-low risk of harm, as well as secondary prevention and tertiary support among those at moderate-to-high risk. We then review the effectiveness of digital tool features and modes of delivery, drawing upon the results of the research literature, environmental scans of gambling and mental health digital tools, rapid assessments of digital tool user data, and consultations with international stakeholders and players. We conclude by outlining promising practices, discussing barriers and areas of improvement, and proposing novel ways to target areas of need specific to the gambling field. The contents and recommendations of this program of work are useful for informing the creation of collaborations, policies, and approaches to guide the development, dissemination, and evaluation of effective digital tools for people across the spectrum of gambling involvement and harm to support the prevention and mitigation of gambling-related harm

What the Death Star can tell us about ergonomics methods

Imagine having to identify a critical flaw in a highly complex planetoid-sized orbital battle station under extreme time pressure, and with no clear idea at the outset where the vulnerability will lie? This was the challenge faced by the Rebel Alliance in the film Star Wars. One of the belligerents, the Imperial Empire, considered it highly unlikely a weakness would be found even if the other combatant were in possession of a full technical readout of the station. How could it be done? The first option presented in this paper is to employ traditional error identification methods of the sort contemporaneous with the film's release in 1977 and still in widespread use today. The findings show the limitations of this deterministic world-view because the method selected did not predict the actual vulnerability exploited. The second option is to use a systems-based method to model the Death Star's functional constraints and affordances and use this to assess the system's resilience. This method did detect the film ending, and several others. What began as an amusing aside has turned into a highly effective means to communicate across disciplines and enhance ergonomic teaching and learning. It also provides a compelling narrative around the use of reductionist methods for systems problems, and some wider implications for ergonomic method selection in more earth-bound settings

Stable Kinetochore-Microtubule Attachment Constrains Centromere Positioning in Metaphase

With a single microtubule attachment, budding-yeast kinetochores provide an excellent system for understanding the coordinated linkage to dynamic microtubule plus ends for chromosome oscillation and positioning. Fluorescent tagging of kinetochore proteins indicates that, on average, all centromeres are clustered, distinctly separated from their sisters, and positioned equidistant from their respective spindle poles during metaphase. However, individual fluorescent chromosome markers near the centromere transiently reassociate with their sisters and oscillate from one spindle half to the other. To reconcile the apparent disparity between the average centromere position and individual centromere proximal markers, we utilized fluorescence recovery after photobleaching to measure stability of the histone-H3 variant Cse4p/CENP-A. Newly synthesized Cse4p replaces old protein during DNA replication. Once assembled, Cse4-GFP is a physically stable component of centromeres during mitosis. This allowed us to follow centromere dynamics within each spindle half. Kinetochores remain stably attached to dynamic microtubules and exhibit a low incidence of switching orientation or position between the spindle halves. Switching of sister chromatid attachment may be contemporaneous with Cse4p exchange and early kinetochore assembly during S phase; this would promote mixing of chromosome attachment to each spindle pole. Once biorientation is attained, centromeres rarely make excursions beyond their proximal half spindle

Discovery of germacrene A synthases in Barnadesia spinosa: The first committed step in sesquiterpene lactone biosynthesis in the basal member of the Asteraceae

The Andes-endemic Barnadesioideae lineage is the oldest surviving and phylogenetically basal subfamily of the Asteraceae (Compositae), a prolific group of flowering plants with world-wide distribution (∼24,000 species) marked by a rich diversity of sesquiterpene lactones (STLs). Intriguingly, there is no evidence that members of the Barnadesioideae produce STLs, specialized metabolites thought to have contributed to the adaptive success of the Asteraceae family outside South America. The biosynthesis of STLs requires the intimate expression and functional integration of germacrene A synthase (GAS) and germacrene A oxidase (GAO) to sequentially cyclize and oxidize farnesyl diphosphate into the advanced intermediate germacrene A acid leading to diverse STLs. Our previous discovery of GAO activity conserved across all major subfamilies of Asteraceae, including the phylogenetically basal lineage of Barnadesioideae, prompted further investigation of the presence of the gateway GAS in Barnadesioideae. Herein we isolated two terpene synthases (BsGAS1/BsGAS2) from the basal Barnadesia spinosa (Barnadesioideae) that displayed robust GAS activity when reconstituted in yeast and characterized in vitro. Despite the apparent lack of STLs in the Barnadesioideae, this work unambiguously confirms the presence of GAS in the basal genera of the Asteraceae. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the two BsGASs fall into two distinct clades of the Asteraceae's GASs, and BsGAS1 clade is only retained in the evolutionary closer Cichorioideae subfamily, implicating BsGAS2 is likely the ancestral base of most GASs found in the lineages outside the Barnadesioideae. Taken together, these results show the enzymatic capacities of GAS and GAO emerged prior to the subsequent radiation of STL-producing Asteraceae subfamilies

LA GESTIÓN DE ARCHIVOS COMO HERRAMIENTA TRASCENDENTAL PARA FORTALECER EL PRINCIPIO DE GOBIERNO ABIERTO.

The management of archives in public and private institutions stands out as a technical andinnovative tool of transversal application in all institutional processes, which contributes tothe conservation, under national and international technical standards, of evidential elementsthat contribute to compliance with the lines of action of the so-called Open Government.Based on this premise, this research work aims to provide a theoretical-conceptual-methodological approach that allows supporting the thesis of file management as atranscendental tool to strengthen the principle of Open Government. The methodology usedresponds to the critical-descriptive model, which will serve to support theories and concepts,in addition to the discussion of the results obtained through the instrumental application. Italso incorporates the methodology of the Document Management and ArchivesAdministration Model (MGDAA), prepared by the Latin American Network forTransparency and Access to Information (RTAIAL). The results reflect the organizationalreality of file management associated with open government and transparency.La gestión de archivos en las instituciones públicas y privadas destaca como una herramientatécnica e innovadora de aplicación trasversal en todos los procesos institucionales, lo quecontribuye a la conservación, bajo normas técnicas nacionales e internacionales, deelementos evidenciales que tributan al cumplimiento de las líneas de acción del llamadoGobierno Abierto. Basados en esta premisa, el presente trabajo de investigación pretendebrindar un acercamiento teórico-conceptual-metodológico que permita sustentar la tesis dela gestión de archivos como herramienta trascendental para fortalecer el principio deGobierno Abierto. La metodología utilizada responde al modelo crítico-descriptivo quepermite fundamentar teorías y conceptos, además de la discusión de los resultados obtenidosmediante la aplicación instrumental. También se incorpora la metodología del Modelo deGestión de Documentos y Administración de Archivos (MGDAA), elaborado por la Red deTransparencia y Acceso a la Información de América Latina (RTAIAL). Los resultadosreflejan la realidad organizacional sobre la gestión de archivos asociada al gobierno abiertoy transparencia

Charlie, Mike, Victor: Student Veterans' Loss of Purpose

As student veteran populations and visibility have increased on campus, some scholars have explored how higher education works (or fails to work) to serve those who have served their country. In military radio jargon, “Charlie Mike” means, “continue the mission.” In this study, the mission was transitioning to and persisting through college and the participants were Student-Veterans and Service-Members (SVSM) – a term coined by Arminio, Grabosky, and Lang (2015). Thus – “Charlie Mike Victor” – focuses on the continuation of the mission for several “victors” – the phonetic “v” in ”Victor” here meaning “veterans.” In this study the concept of self-authorship (Baxter Magolda, 2007; Baxter Magolda &amp; King, 2012) was combined with Schlossberg’s (1981) transition theory to explore the experiences of SVSM in higher education. This study seeks to build on the existing scholarship and more fully explore the role of various identities in the experience of SVSM.</span

Snapshots during the catalytic cycle of a histidine acid phytase reveal an induced fit structural mechanism

Highly engineered phytases, which sequentially hydrolyze the hexakisphosphate ester of inositol known as phytic acid, are routinely added to the feeds of monogastric animals to improve phosphate bioavailability. New phytases are sought as starting points to further optimize the rate and extent of dephosphorylation of phytate in the animal digestive tract. Multiple inositol polyphosphate phosphatases (MINPPs) are clade 2 histidine phosphatases (HP2P) able to carry out the stepwise hydrolysis of phytate. MINPPs are not restricted by a strong positional specificity making them attractive targets for development as feed enzymes. Here, we describe the characterization of a MINPP from the Gram-positive bacterium Bifidobacterium longum (BlMINPP). BlMINPP has a typical HP2P-fold but, unusually, possesses a large a-domain polypeptide insertion relative to other MINPPs. This insertion, termed the U-loop, spans the active site and contributes to substrate specificity pockets underpopulated in other HP2Ps. Mutagenesis of U-loop residues reveals its contribution to enzyme kinetics and thermostability. Moreover, four crystal structures of the protein along the catalytic cycle capture, for the first time in an HP2P, a large ligand-driven a-domain motion essential to allow substrate access to the active site. This motion recruits residues both downstream of a molecular hinge and on the U-loop to participate in specificity subsites, and mutagenesis identified a mobile lysine residue as a key determinant of positional specificity of the enzyme. Taken together, these data provide important new insights to the factors determining stability, substrate recognition, and the structural mechanism of hydrolysis in this industrially important group of enzymes