EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF POULTRY INTERVENTIONS ON MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITION OUTCOMES IN THE LUANGWA VALLEY, ZAMBIA

Worldwide, approximately 156 million children under five are stunted because of chronic undernutrition. Animal source foods (ASF) can improve children’s dietary quality, micronutrient intake, and nutrition outcomes, but ASF are often inaccessible and unaffordable for the most vulnerable children. Livestock interventions can increase the accessibility of ASF in remote, low-income communities, but evidence that they effectively improve child nutrition remains inconclusive. We therefore aimed to examine the association between household livestock ownership and child nutrition outcomes and evaluate the impact of two targeted poultry interventions in rural communities in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. First, we utilized multiple data sources to assess the impact of interventions addressing health and management constraints in the existing “village chicken” production system. Our analyses revealed that the interventions resulted in improved flock sizes and profits, but had no impact on household consumption of chickens or eggs, because farmers preferred to sell chickens. Then, in a large cross-sectional survey, we similarly found that owning livestock managed in traditional systems was not associated with improved dietary or nutrition outcomes among children. Building off these studies, we implemented a novel, market-based intervention supporting egg production centers (EPCs) in 24 communities. Using mixed methods, we found that, despite programmatic challenges, the EPCs could be adequately productive and profitable, widely acceptable to participants, and practical to implement in most rural communities in the Luangwa Valley. Finally, in an impact evaluation, we found that the EPC program successfully increased the acquisition and consumption of eggs by households, women, and young children in participating communities. In this dissertation, we took a comprehensive and stepwise approach, utilizing conceptual frameworks and program impact pathways to identify and test underlying assumptions and intermediate outcomes on the hypothesized pathway from livestock to child nutrition. We suggest that the novel EPC program could function as one component of an integrated nutrition intervention to enhance access to, and consumption of, high-quality ASF in vulnerable households. Our results contribute to the growing evidence that livestock can enhance child nutrition and point to a new approach for livestock interventions and evaluations that focuses on impact at the community-level

Lifestyle Interventions Targeting Body Weight Changes during the Menopause Transition: A Systematic Review

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of exercise and/or nutrition interventions and to address body weight changes during the menopause transition. Methods. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using electronic databases, grey literature, and hand searching. Two independent researchers screened for studies using experimental designs to evaluate the impact of exercise and/or nutrition interventions on body weight and/or central weight gain performed during the menopausal transition. Studies were quality appraised using Cochrane risk of bias. Included studies were analyzed descriptively. Results. Of 3,564 unique citations screened, 3 studies were eligible (2 randomized controlled trials, and 1 pre/post study). Study quality ranged from low to high risk of bias. One randomized controlled trial with lower risk of bias concluded that participation in an exercise program combined with dietary interventions might mitigate body adiposity increases, which is normally observed during the menopause transition. The other two studies with higher risk of bias suggested that exercise might attenuate weight loss or weight gain and change abdominal adiposity patterns. Conclusions. High quality studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions targeting body weight changes in women during their menopause transition are needed. Evidence from one higher quality study indicates an effective multifaceted intervention for women to minimize changes in body adiposity

Spatially resolved variations in reflectivity across iron oxide thin films

The spin polarising properties of the iron oxide magnetite (Fe3O4) make it attractive for use in spintronic devices, but its sensitivity to compositional and structural variations make it challenging to prepare reli- ably. Infrared microspectroscopy and modelling are used to determine the spatial variation in the chem- ical composition of three thin films of iron oxide; one prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), one by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) deposition of iron whilst simultaneously flowing oxygen into the chamber and one by flowing oxygen only once deposition is complete. The technique is easily able to distinguish between films which contain metallic iron and different iron oxide phases as well as spatial variations in composition across the films. The film grown by post-oxidising iron is spatially uniform but not fully oxi- dised, the film grown by simultaneously oxidising iron showed spatial variation in oxide composition while the film grown by PLD was spatially uniform magnetite

The SU RD Team: Serving Research at Syracuse University

Research development is growing in many ways – both as a profession and as a common substructure among institutions of higher education. NORDP itself has helped to support the establishment, fostering, and recognition of the many forms research development has taken, while growing in tandem as an organization. Leadership and representatives from large centralized RD units have contributed to and benefited from the model of peer education, support and mentorship NORDP provides, as have the individuals who serve as one-man or one-woman shops for smaller schools or colleges. At Syracuse University, NORDP has served as the impetus for the development of a new model of research development support, the combined centralized and distributed “SU RD team.” In the spring of 2018, Syracuse University (SU) added a research development unit to the University’s Office of Research, to coordinate activities across the institution. The growth of the office has been slow in size, but the number of activities supported have been significant, such as the fostering of a new, large intramural funding program, a staggering growth in limited submission competitions, and the doubling of grant- and research-related training opportunities on campus. This level of activity, as well as a successful campus-wide adoption of these initiatives, is directly attributable to the University’s unique employment of a team of research development professionals, comprised of members of the centralized Office of Research, and from the Dean’s offices of five of the eleven degree granting schools and colleges at SU. The proposed poster will provide a written and visual representation of this network of RD professionals within one institution, as a case study designed to share best practices of intra-university research development collaborations. Emphasis will be placed on regular shared activities between team members, which both support and stem from the close, working relationships developed in the team

VLT/SPHERE observations and shape reconstruction of asteroid (6) Hebe

(6) Hebe is a large main-belt asteroid, accounting for about half a percent of the mass of the asteroid belt. Its spectral characteristics and close proximity to dynamical resonances within the main-belt (the 3:1 Kirkwood gap and the nu6 resonance) make it a probable parent body of the H-chondrites and IIE iron meteorites found on Earth.We present new AO images of Hebe obtained with the high-contrast imager SPHERE (Beuzit et al. 2008) as part of the science verification of the instrument. Hebe was observed close to its opposition date and throughout its rotation in order to derive its 3-D shape, and to allow a study of its surface craters. Our observations reveal impact zones that witness a severe collisional disruption for this asteroid. When combined to previous AO images and available lightcurves (both from the literature and from recent optical observations by our team), these new observations allow us to derive a reliable shape model using our KOALA algorithm (Carry et al. 2010). We further derive an estimate of Hebe's density based on its known astrometric mass

Evaluation of longitudinal 12 and 24 month cognitive outcomes in premanifest and early Huntington's disease

BACKGROUND: Deterioration of cognitive functioning is a debilitating symptom in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington's disease (HD). To date, there are no effective treatments for the cognitive problems associated with HD. Cognitive assessment outcomes will have a central role in the efforts to develop treatments to delay onset or slow the progression of the disease. The TRACK-HD study was designed to build a rational basis for the selection of cognitive outcomes for HD clinical trials. METHODS: There were a total of 349 participants, including controls (n=116), premanifest HD (n=117) and early HD (n=116). A standardised cognitive assessment battery (including nine cognitive tests comprising 12 outcome measures) was administered at baseline, and at 12 and 24 months, and consisted of a combination of paper and pencil and computerised tasks selected to be sensitive to cortical-striatal damage or HD. Each cognitive outcome was analysed separately using a generalised least squares regression model. Results are expressed as effect sizes to permit comparisons between tasks. RESULTS: 10 of the 12 cognitive outcomes showed evidence of deterioration in the early HD group, relative to controls, over 24 months, with greatest sensitivity in Symbol Digit, Circle Tracing direct and indirect, and Stroop word reading. In contrast, there was very little evidence of deterioration in the premanifest HD group relative to controls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings describe tests that are sensitive to longitudinal cognitive change in HD and elucidate important considerations for selecting cognitive outcomes for clinical trials of compounds aimed at ameliorating cognitive decline in HD

Clinical impairment in premanifest and early Huntington's disease is associated with regionally specific atrophy.

TRACK-HD is a multicentre longitudinal observational study investigating the use of clinical assessments and 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging as potential biomarkers for future therapeutic trials in Huntington's disease (HD). The cross-sectional data from this large well-characterized dataset provide the opportunity to improve our knowledge of how the underlying neuropathology of HD may contribute to the clinical manifestations of the disease across the spectrum of premanifest (PreHD) and early HD. Two hundred and thirty nine gene-positive subjects (120 PreHD and 119 early HD) from the TRACK-HD study were included. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), grey and white matter volumes were correlated with performance in four domains: quantitative motor (tongue force, metronome tapping, and gait); oculomotor [anti-saccade error rate (ASE)]; cognition (negative emotion recognition, spot the change and the University of Pennsylvania smell identification test) and neuropsychiatric measures (apathy, affect and irritability). After adjusting for estimated disease severity, regionally specific associations between structural loss and task performance were found (familywise error corrected, P < 0.05); impairment in tongue force, metronome tapping and ASE were all associated with striatal loss. Additionally, tongue force deficits and ASE were associated with volume reduction in the occipital lobe. Impaired recognition of negative emotions was associated with volumetric reductions in the precuneus and cuneus. Our study reveals specific associations between atrophy and decline in a range of clinical modalities, demonstrating the utility of VBM correlation analysis for investigating these relationships in HD

Processing of social and monetary rewards in autism spectrum disorders

Background: Reward processing has been proposed to underpin the atypical social feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous neuroimaging studies have yielded inconsistent results regarding the specificity of atypicalities for social reward processing in ASD. Aims: Utilising a large sample, we aimed to assess reward processing in response to reward type (social, monetary) and reward phase (anticipation, delivery) in ASD. Method: Functional magnetic resonance imaging during social and monetary reward anticipation and delivery was performed in 212 individuals with ASD (7.6-30.6 years of age) and 181 typically developing participants (7.6-30.8 years of age). Results: Across social and monetary reward anticipation, whole-brain analyses showed hypoactivation of the right ventral striatum in participants with ASD compared with typically developing participants. Further, region of interest analysis across both reward types yielded ASD-related hypoactivation in both the left and right ventral striatum. Across delivery of social and monetary reward, hyperactivation of the ventral striatum in individuals with ASD did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Dimensional analyses of autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) scores were not significant. In categorical analyses, post hoc comparisons showed that ASD effects were most pronounced in participants with ASD without co-occurring ADHD. Conclusions: Our results do not support current theories linking atypical social interaction in ASD to specific alterations in social reward processing. Instead, they point towards a generalised hypoactivity of ventral striatum in ASD during anticipation of both social and monetary rewards. We suggest this indicates attenuated reward seeking in ASD independent of social content and that elevated ADHD symptoms may attenuate altered reward seeking in ASD