Development of polymeric reagents with enhanced ionic accessibility

The focus of this research has been the design and development of polymeric reagents with enhanced ionic accessibility for application to separation science. Ion-complexing ligands were then coupled with polymeric foams, polystyrene beads, and high stability solvent impregnated resins (SIRs). The polymers were evaluated for their metal ion affinity. Four ligands were supported onto the polymeric foams prepared with 8% and 15% crosslinking. The ligands studied were monophosphonic acid, diphosphonic acid, a-ketophosphonic acid, and p-ketophosphonic acid. The functionalized foams were studied for their ability to complex Cu(n), Fe(in), and Eu(III) in batch studies followed by column studies. The highly crosslinked foams were able to be functionalized as one solid piece. The foams demonstrated uniform functionalization throughout the polymer, making them applicable for a wide range of studies. Functionalized foams performed much better than beads in columns with the same type of ligands. This showed the increased porosity does increase the accessibility of the metal ion into the polymer matrix. Further research is needed to better understand reproducibility and regeneration of the functionalized foams. Increased accessibility of metal ions into polymer beads was evaluated by three methods. The first method was to increase the surface area by studying the complexation of the metal ions at two different bead sizes. This did not increase the accessibility. Complexation of the four metals studied [Cu(n), Pb(n), Cd(n), and Eu(in)], was comparable. The second method was to increase the porosity by comparing microporous beads to macroporous beads. The change in polymer support also did not increase the percent complexed of the metal ions for the ligands studied. The final method was the idea of dual-mechanism bifunctional polymers. The addition of a recognition ligand to the resins increased the percent complexed dramatically to \u3e90% for all the metals studied. High stability SIRs were synthesized and studied to evaluate the effect of complexation time and porosity of the polymer support on the percent complex. SIRs were found to have rapid rates of complexation since decreasing the contact time from 24 hours to 15 min did not affect the percent complexed. Encapsulated SIRs complexed \u3e90% over six contact/regeneration cycle. The SIR maintained a higher percent complexed at 15 min for longer contact periods in comparison to the 24 h study. Decreasing the porosity of the support matrix did not significantly affect the percent complexed for the encapsulated SIR

Movements of sub-adult Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, in Puget Sound, Washington, as indicated by ultrasonic tracking

Salmonids show a wide variety of migration patterns. Such variation is especially prevalent in Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. This species migrates to coastal and open ocean waters, and the tendency to use these different marine environments varies markedly among populations. For example, some Chinook salmon that enter Puget Sound do not migrate to the sea as juveniles in their first year but rather remain as “residents” through (at least) the following Spring. Known locally as blackmouth, these fish are the focus of extensive sport fisheries. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to examine questions surrounding resident Chinook salmon in Puget Sound. The overall objective of this study was to determine the extent to resident and migratory behavior patterns are distinct or ends of a continuum of movement patterns, and then characterize the movements of resident fish. We first assessed the proportion of fish, caught and tagged as immature residents (inferred from the locations and dates of capture), that remained within Puget Sound and the proportion that moved to the coastal region, and tested the hypotheses that origin (wild or hatchery), location and season of tagging, fish size and condition factor would influence the tendency to remain resident. Second, we characterized the movements by resident fish with Puget Sound at a series of different spatial scales: movement among the major basins, travel rates, and areas of concentration within Puget Sound. Third, we tested the model of seasonal north-south movement patterns by examining the distribution of detections over the whole area and year. Because residents represent a significant portion of the Puget Sound Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit, currently listed as Threatened under the U. S. Endangered Species Act, better understanding of their movements in Puget Sound will help identify critical habitat use patterns and evaluate fishery management objectives as the species crosses jurisdictional boundaries

Tabou

Program for the fifth annual RISD Cabaret held in the Waterman Building. Design and layout by Nonie Close.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_cabaret_programs/1004/thumbnail.jp

MFA09 (MFA 2009)

Catalogue of a culminating student exhibition held at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in 2009. Content includes A new paradigm / Carmon Colangelo -- Evolving practices / Patricia Olynyk -- Stephanie Barenz -- Carolyn Dawn Bendel -- Jacob Cruzen -- Rachel Ann Dennis -- Bryan Eaton -- Maya Escobar -- Meredith Foster -- Morgan Gehris -- Gina Grafos -- Stephen Hoskins -- Amelia Jones -- Hye Young Kim -- Anne Lindberg -- Goran Maric -- Kelda Martensen -- Erica L. Millspaugh -- Carianne Noga -- Joel Parker -- Rebecca C. Potts -- Shannon Randol -- Elaine Rickles -- Michael Kenneth Smith -- Dan Solberg -- Natalie Toney -- Glenn Tramantano -- Kathryn Trout -- J. Taylor Wallace.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/books/1006/thumbnail.jp

Life Beyond the Solar System: Remotely Detectable Biosignatures

For the first time in human history, we will soon be able to apply to the scientific method to the question "Are We Alone?" The rapid advance of exoplanet discovery, planetary systems science, and telescope technology will soon allow scientists to search for life beyond our Solar System through direct observation of extrasolar planets. This endeavor will occur alongside searches for habitable environments and signs of life within our Solar System. While these searches are thematically related and will inform each other, they will require separate observational techniques. The search for life on exoplanets holds potential through the great diversity of worlds to be explored beyond our Solar System. However, there are also unique challenges related to the relatively limited data this search will obtain on any individual world

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

TeenCovidLife: a resource to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in Scotland

TeenCovidLife is part of Generation Scotland’s CovidLife projects, a set of longitudinal observational studies designed to assess the psychosocial and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. TeenCovidLife focused on how adolescents in Scotland were coping during the pandemic. As of September 2021, Generation Scotland had conducted three TeenCovidLife surveys. Participants from previous surveys were invited to participate in the next, meaning the age ranges shifted over time. TeenCovidLife Survey 1 consists of data from 5,543 young people age 12 to 17, collected from 22 May to 5 July 2020, during the first school closures period in Scotland. TeenCovidLife Survey 2 consists of data from 2,245 young people aged 12 to 18, collected from 18 August to 14 October 2020, when the initial lockdown measures were beginning to ease, and schools reopened in Scotland. TeenCovidLife Survey 3 consists of data from 597 young people age 12 to 19, collected from 12 May to 27 June 2021, a year after the first survey, after the schools returned following the second lockdown in 2021. A total of 316 participants took part in all three surveys. TeenCovidLife collected data on general health and well-being, as well as topics specific to COVID-19, such as adherence to COVID-19 health guidance, feelings about school closures, and the impact of exam cancellations. Limited work has examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. TeenCovidLife provides relevant and timely data to assess the impact of the pandemic on young people in Scotland. The dataset is available under authorised access from Generation Scotland; see the Generation Scotland website for more information

Genetic determinants of telomere length from 109,122 ancestrally diverse whole-genome sequences in TOPMed

Genetic studies on telomere length are important for understanding age-related diseases. Prior GWAS for leukocyte TL have been limited to European and Asian populations. Here, we report the first sequencing-based association study for TL across ancestrally-diverse individuals (European, African, Asian and Hispanic/Latino) from the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We used whole genome sequencing (WGS) of whole blood for variant genotype calling and the bioinformatic estimation of telomere length in n=109,122 individuals. We identified 59 sentinel variants (p-value OBFC1indicated the independent signals colocalized with cell-type specific eQTLs for OBFC1 (STN1). Using a multi-variant gene-based approach, we identified two genes newly implicated in telomere length, DCLRE1B (SNM1B) and PARN. In PheWAS, we demonstrated our TL polygenic trait scores (PTS) were associated with increased risk of cancer-related phenotypes

Continuous glucose monitoring in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes (CONCEPTT): a multicentre international randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with type 1 diabetes are a high-risk population who are recommended to strive for optimal glucose control, but neonatal outcomes attributed to maternal hyperglycaemia remain suboptimal. Our aim was to examine the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) on maternal glucose control and obstetric and neonatal health outcomes. METHODS: In this multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial, we recruited women aged 18-40 years with type 1 diabetes for a minimum of 12 months who were receiving intensive insulin therapy. Participants were pregnant (≤13 weeks and 6 days' gestation) or planning pregnancy from 31 hospitals in Canada, England, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and the USA. We ran two trials in parallel for pregnant participants and for participants planning pregnancy. In both trials, participants were randomly assigned to either CGM in addition to capillary glucose monitoring or capillary glucose monitoring alone. Randomisation was stratified by insulin delivery (pump or injections) and baseline glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). The primary outcome was change in HbA1c from randomisation to 34 weeks' gestation in pregnant women and to 24 weeks or conception in women planning pregnancy, and was assessed in all randomised participants with baseline assessments. Secondary outcomes included obstetric and neonatal health outcomes, assessed with all available data without imputation. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01788527. FINDINGS: Between March 25, 2013, and March 22, 2016, we randomly assigned 325 women (215 pregnant, 110 planning pregnancy) to capillary glucose monitoring with CGM (108 pregnant and 53 planning pregnancy) or without (107 pregnant and 57 planning pregnancy). We found a small difference in HbA1c in pregnant women using CGM (mean difference -0·19%; 95% CI -0·34 to -0·03; p=0·0207). Pregnant CGM users spent more time in target (68% vs 61%; p=0·0034) and less time hyperglycaemic (27% vs 32%; p=0·0279) than did pregnant control participants, with comparable severe hypoglycaemia episodes (18 CGM and 21 control) and time spent hypoglycaemic (3% vs 4%; p=0·10). Neonatal health outcomes were significantly improved, with lower incidence of large for gestational age (odds ratio 0·51, 95% CI 0·28 to 0·90; p=0·0210), fewer neonatal intensive care admissions lasting more than 24 h (0·48; 0·26 to 0·86; p=0·0157), fewer incidences of neonatal hypoglycaemia (0·45; 0·22 to 0·89; p=0·0250), and 1-day shorter length of hospital stay (p=0·0091). We found no apparent benefit of CGM in women planning pregnancy. Adverse events occurred in 51 (48%) of CGM participants and 43 (40%) of control participants in the pregnancy trial, and in 12 (27%) of CGM participants and 21 (37%) of control participants in the planning pregnancy trial. Serious adverse events occurred in 13 (6%) participants in the pregnancy trial (eight [7%] CGM, five [5%] control) and in three (3%) participants in the planning pregnancy trial (two [4%] CGM and one [2%] control). The most common adverse events were skin reactions occurring in 49 (48%) of 103 CGM participants and eight (8%) of 104 control participants during pregnancy and in 23 (44%) of 52 CGM participants and five (9%) of 57 control participants in the planning pregnancy trial. The most common serious adverse events were gastrointestinal (nausea and vomiting in four participants during pregnancy and three participants planning pregnancy). INTERPRETATION: Use of CGM during pregnancy in patients with type 1 diabetes is associated with improved neonatal outcomes, which are likely to be attributed to reduced exposure to maternal hyperglycaemia. CGM should be offered to all pregnant women with type 1 diabetes using intensive insulin therapy. This study is the first to indicate potential for improvements in non-glycaemic health outcomes from CGM use. FUNDING: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Canadian Clinical Trials Network, and National Institute for Health Research

Clinical outcomes and response to treatment of patients receiving topical treatments for pyoderma gangrenosum: a prospective cohort study

Background: pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon dermatosis with a limited evidence base for treatment. Objective: to estimate the effectiveness of topical therapies in the treatment of PG. Methods: prospective cohort study of UK secondary care patients with a clinical diagnosis of PG suitable for topical treatment (recruited July 2009 to June 2012). Participants received topical therapy following normal clinical practice (mainly Class I-III topical corticosteroids, tacrolimus 0.03% or 0.1%). Primary outcome: speed of healing at 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes: proportion healed by 6 months; time to healing; global assessment; inflammation; pain; quality-of-life; treatment failure and recurrence. Results: Sixty-six patients (22 to 85 years) were enrolled. Clobetasol propionate 0.05% was the most commonly prescribed therapy. Overall, 28/66 (43.8%) of ulcers healed by 6 months. Median time-to-healing was 145 days (95% CI: 96 days, ∞). Initial ulcer size was a significant predictor of time-to-healing (hazard ratio 0.94 (0.88;80 1.00); p = 0.043). Four patients (15%) had a recurrence. Limitations: No randomised comparator Conclusion: Topical therapy is potentially an effective first-line treatment for PG that avoids possible side effects associated with systemic therapy. It remains unclear whether more severe disease will respond adequately to topical therapy alone