The Complex Demographic History and Evolutionary Origin of the Western Honey Bee, Apis Mellifera.

The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, provides critical pollination services to agricultural crops worldwide. However, despite substantial interest and prior investigation, the early evolution and subsequent diversification of this important pollinator remain uncertain. The primary hypotheses place the origin of A. mellifera in either Asia or Africa, with subsequent radiations proceeding from one of these regions. Here, we use two publicly available whole-genome data sets plus newly sequenced genomes and apply multiple population genetic analysis methods to investigate the patterns of ancestry and admixture in native honey bee populations from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The combination of these data sets is critical to the analyses, as each contributes samples from geographic locations lacking in the other, thereby producing the most complete set of honey bee populations available to date. We find evidence supporting an origin of A. mellifera in the Middle East or North Eastern Africa, with the A and Y lineages representing the earliest branching lineages. This finding has similarities with multiple contradictory hypotheses and represents a disentangling of genetic relationships, geographic proximity, and secondary contact to produce a more accurate picture of the origins of A. mellifera. We also investigate how previous studies came to their various conclusions based on incomplete sampling of populations, and illustrate the importance of complete sampling in understanding evolutionary processes. These results provide fundamental knowledge about genetic diversity within Old World honey bee populations and offer insight into the complex history of an important pollinator

Organizational Culture and Telecommuters\u27 Quality of Work Life and Professional Isolation

While much has been studied and written about the adjustments managers must make when supervising remote workers in virtual work arrangements, little has been written about the potential change in the organizational culture and the effect the culture has on the virtual worker\u27s quality of work life and professional isolation. Not only may culture affect the implementation and success of telecommuting arrangements, but the increased isolation and independence of a virtual worker may impact the culture surrounding remote workers and create an organizational subculture. This study examines the relationship between quality of work life, professional isolation, and an organization\u27s cultural values surrounding telecommuters and non-telecommuters

Improving I.S. student Engagement and Perceived Course Value

This study investigated the relationships among course organization, active learning assignments, perceived course value, and student engagement. The study relied on constructs from previous studies to measure value, engagement, and course organization. A new construct of active learning assignments was specially designed for this study. Statistically significant findings were observed between course organization, active learning assignments, perceived course value, and student engagement. The use of active learning assignments has a strong positive relationship with students’ perception of course value and course engagement. Likewise, there is a positive correlation between course organization and students’ perception of course value and course engagement

Information Systems Faculty Perceptions of Ethical Work Climate and Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this work in progress is to provide an overview of the current research literature in the areas of ethical work climate and employee job satisfaction, and then present a model that will help guide future research on the relationship among egoistic ethical work climate, benevolent ethical work climate, and principled ethical work climate and job satisfaction as perceived by information systems faculty at institutions of higher education in the southeastern United States

A mixed methods economic analysis of doula-service enhanced maternity care as compared with standard maternity care

BACKGROUND: In the United States, racial and income disparities in maternity care outcomes are large and persistent. Research demonstrates that community doulas (specialized community health workers for pregnant, birthing and postpartum people) can improve maternal and infant outcomes. Despite this evidence, doulas have not yet been widely adopted in health services for low-income communities. One barrier to scale-up is understanding the costs and benefits of integrating doula services into maternity care payment systems. METHODS: An exploratory, sequential mixed methods study design was used to understand decision-maker perspectives on doulas in maternity care and apply these priorities to an economic evaluation of a randomized trial of enhanced doula support. 16 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Medicaid, Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and maternity care decision makers in Massachusetts were conducted. Results from the qualitative study informed the design of an economic analysis of a pragmatic trial of doula support. A return on investment analysis, with a focus on areas of high financial impact and organized by segments of health care services was conducted. Program costs were analyzed using a micro-costing approach. Hospital data on health care costs and payments were used to calculate financial outcomes for both intervention and control groups. Sensitivity and sub-group analyses were developed to understand variations in impact for different populations, settings and doula program models. RESULTS: Decision-maker interviews revealed that health care organizations prioritize investments that promote improved population health, patient experience, cost reduction, and elimination of racial disparities in outcomes. Participants universally expressed interest in an analysis approach that provides information on return-on-investment outcomes, as well as the clinical and cost areas with the largest impact. The time frame of interest was primarily in the pregnancy and newborn episodes of care, with some participants expressing interest in longer term outcomes related to fewer first cesarean deliveries or preterm birth. The economic analysis found an 18% return on investment for the Best Beginnings for Babies doula intervention overall. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated the largest impact was for people with medical and social risk factors and for those who received at least 5 hours of prenatal home visits, as well as labor support. CONCLUSION: Medicaid and maternity care decision-makers are supportive of doula programs if they are affordable and can create cost savings. An economic analysis of the Birth Sisters Best Beginnings for Babies program found a positive return on investment, benefiting both health care payers and families. Community doula programs are a high-value innovation that should be reimbursed by Medicaid agencies.2021-09-25T00:00:00

Classification of Safety Driver Attention During Autonomous Vehicle Operation

Despite the continual advances in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and the development of high-level autonomous vehicles (AV), there is a general consensus that for the short to medium term, there is a requirement for a human supervisor to handle the edge cases that inevitably arise. Given this requirement, it is essential that the state of the vehicle operator is monitored to ensure they are contributing to the vehicle's safe operation. This paper introduces a dual-source approach integrating data from an infrared camera facing the vehicle operator and vehicle perception systems to produce a metric for driver alertness in order to promote and ensure safe operator behaviour. The infrared camera detects the driver's head, enabling the calculation of head orientation, which is relevant as the head typically moves according to the individual's focus of attention. By incorporating environmental data from the perception system, it becomes possible to determine whether the vehicle operator observes objects in the surroundings. Experiments were conducted using data collected in Sydney, Australia, simulating AV operations in an urban environment. Our results demonstrate that the proposed system effectively determines a metric for the attention levels of the vehicle operator, enabling interventions such as warnings or reducing autonomous functionality as appropriate. This comprehensive solution shows promise in contributing to ADAS and AVs' overall safety and efficiency in a real-world setting

Diet-induced obesity mediated by the JNK/DIO2 signal transduction pathway

The cJun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is a key mediator of metabolic stress responses caused by consuming a high-fat diet, including the development of obesity. To test the role of JNK, we examined diet-induced obesity in mice with targeted ablation of Jnk genes in the anterior pituitary gland. These mice exhibited an increase in the pituitary expression of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), an increase in the blood concentration of thyroid hormone (T4), increased energy expenditure, and markedly reduced obesity compared with control mice. The increased amount of pituitary TSH was caused by reduced expression of type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (Dio2), a gene that is required for T4-mediated negative feedback regulation of TSH expression. These data establish a molecular mechanism that accounts for the regulation of energy expenditure and the development of obesity by the JNK signaling pathway

Leptin modulates the response of brown adipose tissue to negative energy balance: implication of the gh/igf-i axis

The growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis is involved in metabolic control. Malnutrition reduces IGF-I and modifies the thermogenic capacity of brown adipose tissue (BAT). Leptin has effects on the GH/IGF-I axis and the function of BAT, but its interaction with IGF-I and the mechanisms involved in the regulation of thermogenesis remains unknown. We studied the GH/IGF-I axis and activation of IGF-I-related signaling and metabolism related to BAT thermogenesis in chronic central leptin infused (L), pair-fed (PF), and control rats. Hypothalamic somatostatin mRNA levels were increased in PF and decreased in L, while pituitary GH mRNA was reduced in PF. Serum GH and IGF-I concentrations were decreased only in PF. In BAT, the association between suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 and the IGF-I receptor was reduced, and phosphorylation of the IGF-I receptor increased in the L group. Phosphorylation of Akt and cyclic AMP response element binding protein and glucose transporter 4 mRNA levels were increased in L and mRNA levels of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) and enzymes involved in lipid anabolism reduced in PF. These results suggest that modifications in UCP-1 in BAT and changes in the GH/IGF-I axis induced by negative energy balance are dependent upon leptin levels.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with the help of European FEDER funding (FIS PI19/00166), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BFU 2017-82565-C2-1-R) and the Network Center for Biomedical Research on Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) Instituto Carlos III. S.C. was supported by CIBEROB

An alternative splicing program promotes adipose tissue thermogenesis

Alternative pre-mRNA splicing expands the complexity of the transcriptome and controls isoform-specific gene expression. Whether alternative splicing contributes to metabolic regulation is largely unknown. Here we investigated the contribution of alternative splicing to the development of diet-induced obesity. We found that obesity-induced changes in adipocyte gene expression include alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Bioinformatics analysis associated part of this alternative splicing program with sequence specific NOVA splicing factors. This conclusion was confirmed by studies of mice with NOVA deficiency in adipocytes. Phenotypic analysis of the NOVA-deficient mice demonstrated increased adipose tissue thermogenesis and improved glycemia. We show that NOVA proteins mediate a splicing program that suppresses adipose tissue thermogenesis. Together, these data provide quantitative analysis of gene expression at exon-level resolution in obesity and identify a novel mechanism that contributes to the regulation of adipose tissue function and the maintenance of normal glycemia

Oral estradiol/micronized progesterone may be associated with lower risk of venous thromboembolism compared with conjugated equine estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate in real-world practice.

OBJECTIVES The Women's Health Initiative study reported an increased risk of venous thromboembolism among menopausal women treated with conjugated equine estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEE/MPA) versus placebo. Newer hormone therapies may have a lower venous thromboembolism risk. The study compared the risk of venous thromboembolism between women treated with the combined oral product 17β-estradiol/micronized progesterone (E2/P4) and those treated with oral CEE/MPA regimens. STUDY DESIGN In a retrospective longitudinal study using real-world claims data from April 2019 to June 2021, women aged 40 years or more treated with oral E2/P4 or oral CEE/MPA who did not have a venous thromboembolism diagnosis before first dispensing claim of CEE/MPA or E2/P4 identified on or after May 1st 2019 (index date) were observed for 6 months or more after the index date. Oral E2/P4 and oral CEE/MPA had been prescribed by the treating physician in real-world practice and were observed through pharmacy dispensing records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Venous thromboembolism risk was compared between women receiving oral E2/P4 versus oral CEE/MPA. RESULTS The study included 36,061 women treated with oral E2/P4 or oral CEE/MPA. In the analyses weighted by the inverse probability of treatment for control of potential confounding factors, the incidence of venous thromboembolism was significantly lower for oral E2/P4 compared with oral CEE/MPA (37/10,000 women-years for oral E2/P4 vs 53/10,000 women-years for oral CEE/MPA; incidence rate ratio 0.70, 95 % confidence interval: 0.53-0.92). CONCLUSIONS Real-world evidence suggests that the risk of venous thromboembolism is significantly lower among women treated with oral E2/P4 compared with oral CEE/MPA