Understanding Open Defecation in the Age of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Agency, Accountability, and Anger in Rural Bihar.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, India's flagship sanitation intervention, set out to end open defecation by October 2019. While the program improved toilet coverage nationally, large regional disparities in construction and use remain. Our study used ethnographic methods to explore perspectives on open defecation and latrine use, and the socio-economic and political reasons for these perspectives, in rural Bihar. We draw on insights from social epidemiology and political ecology to explore the structural determinants of latrine ownership and use. Though researchers have often pointed to rural residents' preference for open defecation, we found that people were aware of its many risks. We also found that (i) while sanitation research and "behavior change" campaigns often conflate the reluctance to adopt latrines with a preference for open defecation, this is an erroneous conflation; (ii) a subsidy can help (some) households to construct latrines but the amount of the subsidy and the manner of its disbursement are key to its usefulness; and (iii) widespread resentment towards what many rural residents view as a development bias against rural areas reinforces distrust towards the government overall and its Swachh Bharat Abhiyan-funded latrines in particular. These social-structural explanations for the slow uptake of sanitation in rural Bihar (and potentially elsewhere) deserve more attention in sanitation research and promotion efforts

Adapting an Evidence-Based Intervention for Rural Women with Depression

Background: Prevalence of depression among rural women is nearly 4 times the national average Depression prevalence particularly high in Central Appalachia Limited services and social barriers restrict treatment acces

The Importance of Shared Language in Rural Behavioral Health Interventions: An Exploratory Linguistic Analysis

A focus on the use of shared language to enhance congruence in interventionist-client dialogue is missing from traditional research on evidence-based practices and rural behavioral health. This study incorporates qualitative interactional sociolinguistics, which includes discourse analysis (typically written or audio recordings of face-to-face encounters with 11 clients and a study interventionist), to describe those speech patterns in a broad sense (dialect), as well as more specific use of communicative strategies to increase parity in the interaction between a rural interventionist delivering an evidence-based practice in the context of a research study with rural women opioid users in a non-therapeutic context. Study findings indicated that in the context of delivering the intervention, use of a shared language, language pattern congruence, and communication styles can greatly augment the intent of the approach with vulnerable populations. In addition, other communicative strategies connected with traditional Appalachian values – such as religion, home, and family – were also important. This study makes an important contribution to behavioral health research and practice by understanding critical factors that may influence evidence-based practice delivery, particularly in real-world settings with vulnerable populations. These findings have important implications for the utilization of creative approaches to understand critical components of the clinical interaction as indicators of fidelity

Mental Health Treatment Seeking Patterns and Preferences of Appalachian Women with Depression

This qualitative study explored social-cultural factors that shape treatment seeking behaviors among depressed rural, low-income women in Appalachia—a region with high rates of depression and a shortage of mental health services. Recent research shows that increasingly rural women are receiving some form of treatment and identifying their symptoms as depression. Using purposive sampling, investigators recruited 28 depressed low-income women living in Appalachian Kentucky and conducted semistructured interviews on participants’ perceptions of depression and treatment seeking. Even in this sample of women with diverse treatment behaviors (half reported current treatment), participants expressed ambivalence about treatment and its potential to promote recovery. Participants stressed that poor treatment quality—not merely access—limited their engagement in treatment and at times reinforced their depression. While women acknowledged the stigma of depression, they indicated that their resistance to seek help for their depression was influenced by the expectation of women’s self-reliance in the rural setting and the gendered taboo against negative thinking. Ambivalence and stigma led women to try to cope independently, resulting in further isolation. This study’s findings reiterate the need for improved quality and increased availability of depression treatment in rural areas. In addition, culturally appropriate depression interventions must acknowledge rural cultural values of self-reliance and barriers to obtaining social support that lead many women to endure depression in isolation

Gene discovery in the horned beetle Onthophagus taurus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Horned beetles, in particular in the genus <it>Onthophagus</it>, are important models for studies on sexual selection, biological radiations, the origin of novel traits, developmental plasticity, biocontrol, conservation, and forensic biology. Despite their growing prominence as models for studying both basic and applied questions in biology, little genomic or transcriptomic data are available for this genus. We used massively parallel pyrosequencing (Roche 454-FLX platform) to produce a comprehensive EST dataset for the horned beetle <it>Onthophagus taurus</it>. To maximize sequence diversity, we pooled RNA extracted from a normalized library encompassing diverse developmental stages and both sexes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We used 454 pyrosequencing to sequence ESTs from all post-embryonic stages of <it>O. taurus. </it>Approximately 1.36 million reads assembled into 50,080 non-redundant sequences encompassing a total of 26.5 Mbp. The non-redundant sequences match over half of the genes in <it>Tribolium castaneum</it>, the most closely related species with a sequenced genome. Analyses of Gene Ontology annotations and biochemical pathways indicate that the <it>O. taurus </it>sequences reflect a wide and representative sampling of biological functions and biochemical processes. An analysis of sequence polymorphisms revealed that SNP frequency was negatively related to overall expression level and the number of tissue types in which a given gene is expressed. The most variable genes were enriched for a limited number of GO annotations whereas the least variable genes were enriched for a wide range of GO terms directly related to fitness.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study provides the first large-scale EST database for horned beetles, a much-needed resource for advancing the study of these organisms. Furthermore, we identified instances of gene duplications and alternative splicing, useful for future study of gene regulation, and a large number of SNP markers that could be used in population-genetic studies of <it>O. taurus </it>and possibly other horned beetles.</p

Tolerance of Novel Toxins through Generalized Mechanisms: Simulating Gradual Host Shifts of ButterfliesKristin

Organisms encounter a wide range of toxic compounds in their environments, from chemicals that serve anticonsumption or anticompetition functions to pollutants and pesticides. Although we understand many detoxification mechanisms that allow organisms to consume toxins typical of their diet, we know little about why organisms vary in their ability to tolerate entirely novel toxins. We tested whether variation in generalized stress responses, such as antioxidant pathways, may underlie variation in reactions to novel toxins and, if so, their associated costs. We used an artificial diet to present cabbage white butterfly caterpillars (Pieris rapae) with plant material containing toxins not experienced in their evolutionary history. Families that maintained high performance (e.g., high survival, fast development time, large body size) on diets containing one novel toxic plant also performed well when exposed to two other novel toxic plants, consistent with a generalized response. Variation in constitutive (but not induced) expression of genes involved in oxidative stress responses was positively related to performance on the novel diets. While we did not detect reproductive trade-offs of this generalized response, there was a tendency to have less melanin investment in the wings, consistent with the role of melanin in oxidative stress responses. Taken together, our results support the hypothesis that variation in generalized stress responses, such as genes involved in oxidative stress responses, may explain the variation in tolerance to entirely novel toxins and may facilitate colonization of novel hosts and environments

Colorectal Cancer Prevention: Perspectives of Key Players from Social Networks in a Low-Income Rural US Region

Social networks influence health behavior and health status. Within social networks, “key players” often influence those around them, particularly in traditionally underserved areas like the Appalachian region in the USA. From a total sample of 787 Appalachian residents, we identified and interviewed 10 key players in complex networks, asking them what comprises a key player, their role in their network and community, and ideas to overcome and increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Key players emphasized their communication skills, resourcefulness, and special occupational and educational status in the community. Barriers to CRC screening included negative perceptions of the colonoscopy screening procedure, discomfort with the medical system, and misinformed perspectives on screening. Ideas to improve screening focused on increasing awareness of women\u27s susceptibility to CRC, providing information on different screening tests, improving access, and the key role of health-care providers and key players themselves. We provide recommendations to leverage these vital community resources

Phenotypic robustness can increase phenotypic variability after non-genetic perturbations in gene regulatory circuits

Non-genetic perturbations, such as environmental change or developmental noise, can induce novel phenotypes. If an induced phenotype confers a fitness advantage, selection may promote its genetic stabilization. Non-genetic perturbations can thus initiate evolutionary innovation. Genetic variation that is not usually phenotypically visible may play an important role in this process. Populations under stabilizing selection on a phenotype that is robust to mutations can accumulate such variation. After non-genetic perturbations, this variation can become a source of new phenotypes. We here study the relationship between a phenotype's robustness to mutations and a population's potential to generate novel phenotypic variation. To this end, we use a well-studied model of transcriptional regulation circuits. Such circuits are important in many evolutionary innovations. We find that phenotypic robustness promotes phenotypic variability in response to non-genetic perturbations, but not in response to mutation. Our work suggests that non-genetic perturbations may initiate innovation more frequently in mutationally robust gene expression traits.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Cost-effective Roadside Revegetation Methods to Support Insect Pollinators

(c) 1036212Roadsides contain promising habitat for insect pollinators, yet roadside restorations can be expensive and are rarely evaluated for effectiveness. Where do we establish pollinator-friendly revegetation to maximize benefits? How effective are current revegetation practices at providing habitat for pollinators? We address these questions with two studies. Chapter 2 examines the impact of roadside-adjacent habitat that has been identified as pollinator-friendly for bumble bees. We use pollinator habitat maps to examine associations between the amount of nearby pollinator-friendly habitat and bumble bees (abundance and richness). We also regroup land covers to more specifically align with bumble bee habitat needs and compare the ability of both land cover categorizations to predict bumble bee metrics. This study can help refine predictors in mapping efforts to prioritize locations for pollinator habitat enhancements. Chapters 3 and 4 combine detailed insect and floral surveys of sites with known revegetation history to test efficacy of current revegetation methods for providing habitat for insect pollinators. We show which plants establish after seeding and how communities change as they age. We find that native flowering plants are more likely to establish in roadsides when they are planted, but native and non-native seeded sites converge in the plant community through time. Bumble bee and butterfly abundance and diversity is tied to flowering plant abundance and diversity, regardless of their status as native plants. This work identifies where pollinator-friendly restorations should be implemented and how current seeding practices could be modified to improve benefits to pollinators while reducing costs