Achieving Successful Long-Term Recovery and Safety from a Catastrophe: The Federal Role

Our task, reflected in this report, was to assess the government’s role in achieving long-term, safe recovery of the Gulf coast communities from the catastrophic disaster of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the early fall of 2005. The focus is on its catastrophic nature and the ability of our society to deal with such. This report offers our analysis with a focus on the federal government, per the national policy interests of the Ford Foundation. A companion book from the research is under preparation; it will consider the same question with the state and local government focus added to the federal response

Listening to the parent voice to inform person-centred neonatal care.

Family integrated care (FIC), where parents are an integral part of their baby’s care and decision-making can enhance parental involvement and empowerment, contributing to decreased parental separation and stress. It follows that parents can also be a central part of neonatal education for staff in the neonatal speciality. This paper focuses on what students and staff can learn from parents about what they feel is important to make their experience better. A narrative, interpretive approach was undertaken to collect and analyse parent interview narratives. A specific question was posed to a purposive sample of parents who have had premature babies about what health professionals can learn from them. Thematic analysis revealed five key themes relating to the importance of: communicating; listening; empathising; acknowledging (the parent’s role); realising (what matters to parents). These elements were incorporated into a framework named by the mnemonic, ‘CLEAR’. This highlights what parents want staff to be cognisant of when caring for them and their babies. Learning from the parents in our care enables a greater understanding of their experiences at difficult and challenging times. Having a deeper understanding of parents’ experiences can contribute to enhanced empathic learning.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Comparative genomics of bdelloid rotifers: Insights from desiccating and nondesiccating species.

Bdelloid rotifers are a class of microscopic invertebrates that have existed for millions of years apparently without sex or meiosis. They inhabit a variety of temporary and permanent freshwater habitats globally, and many species are remarkably tolerant of desiccation. Bdelloids offer an opportunity to better understand the evolution of sex and recombination, but previous work has emphasised desiccation as the cause of several unusual genomic features in this group. Here, we present high-quality whole-genome sequences of 3 bdelloid species: Rotaria macrura and R. magnacalcarata, which are both desiccation intolerant, and Adineta ricciae, which is desiccation tolerant. In combination with the published assembly of A. vaga, which is also desiccation tolerant, we apply a comparative genomics approach to evaluate the potential effects of desiccation tolerance and asexuality on genome evolution in bdelloids. We find that ancestral tetraploidy is conserved among all 4 bdelloid species, but homologous divergence in obligately aquatic Rotaria genomes is unexpectedly low. This finding is contrary to current models regarding the role of desiccation in shaping bdelloid genomes. In addition, we find that homologous regions in A. ricciae are largely collinear and do not form palindromic repeats as observed in the published A. vaga assembly. Consequently, several features interpreted as genomic evidence for long-term ameiotic evolution are not general to all bdelloid species, even within the same genus. Finally, we substantiate previous findings of high levels of horizontally transferred nonmetazoan genes in both desiccating and nondesiccating bdelloid species and show that this unusual feature is not shared by other animal phyla, even those with desiccation-tolerant representatives. These comparisons call into question the proposed role of desiccation in mediating horizontal genetic transfer

Deconvolving the pre-Himalayan Indian margin – tales of crustal growth and destruction

The metamorphic core of the Himalaya is composed of Indian cratonic rocks with two distinct crustal affinities that are defined by radiogenic isotopic geochemistry and detrital zircon age spectra. One is derived predominantly from the Paleoproterozoic and Archean rocks of the Indian cratonic interior and is either represented as metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of the Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) or as slices of the distal cratonic margin. The other is the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) whose provenance is less clear and has an enigmatic affinity. Here we present new detrital zircon Hf analyses from LHS and GHS samples spanning over 1000 kilometers along the orogen that respectively show a striking similarity in age spectra and Hf isotope ratios. Within the GHS, the zircon age populations at 2800–2500 Ma, 1800 Ma, 1000 Ma and 500 Ma can be ascribed to various Gondwanan source regions; however, a pervasive and dominant Tonian age population (∼860–800 Ma) with a variably enriched radiogenic Hf isotope signature (εHf = 10 to -20) has not been identified from Gondwana or peripheral accreted terranes. We suggest this detrital zircon age population was derived from a crustal province that was subsequently removed by tectonic erosion. Substantial geologic evidence exists from previous studies across the Himalaya supporting the Cambro-Ordovician Kurgiakh Orogeny. We propose the tectonic removal of Tonian lithosphere occurred prior to or during this Cambro-Ordovician episode of orogenesis in a similar scenario as is seen in the modern Andean and Indonesian orogenies, wherein tectonic processes have removed significant portions of the continental lithosphere in a relatively short amount of time. This model described herein of the pre-Himalayan northern margin of Greater India highlights the paucity of the geologic record associated with the growth of continental crust. Although the continental crust is the archive of Earth history, it is vital to recognize the ways in which preservation bias and destruction of continental crust informs geologic models

Targeted next-generation sequencing of DNA regions proximal to a conserved GXGXXG signaling motif enables systematic discovery of tyrosine kinase fusions in cancer

Tyrosine kinase (TK) fusions are attractive drug targets in cancers. However, rapid identification of these lesions has been hampered by experimental limitations. Our in silico analysis of known cancer-derived TK fusions revealed that most breakpoints occur within a defined region upstream of a conserved GXGXXG kinase motif. We therefore designed a novel DNA-based targeted sequencing approach to screen systematically for fusions within the 90 human TKs; it should detect 92% of known TK fusions. We deliberately paired ‘in-solution’ DNA capture with 454 sequencing to minimize starting material requirements, take advantage of long sequence reads, and facilitate mapping of fusions. To validate this platform, we analyzed genomic DNA from thyroid cancer cells (TPC-1) and leukemia cells (KG-1) with fusions known only at the mRNA level. We readily identified for the first time the genomic fusion sequences of CCDC6-RET in TPC-1 cells and FGFR1OP2-FGFR1 in KG-1 cells. These data demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to identify TK fusions across multiple human cancers in a high-throughput, unbiased manner. This method is distinct from other similar efforts, because it focuses specifically on targets with therapeutic potential, uses only 1.5 µg of DNA, and circumvents the need for complex computational sequence analysis

Tuning charge-assisted and weak hydrogen bonds in molecular complexes of the proton sponge DMAN by acid co-former substitution

Nine new molecular complexes of the proton sponge 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (DMAN) with substituted benzoic acid co-formers have been engineered with varying component stoichiometries (1?:?1, 1?:?2 or 1?:?3). These complexes are all ionic in nature, following proton transfer between the acid co-former and DMAN; the extracted proton is held by DMAN in all instances in an intramolecular [N–H?N]+ hydrogen bond. A number of structural features are common to all complexes and are found to be tunable in a predictable way using systematic acid co-former substitution. These features include charge-assisted hydrogen bonds formed between acid co-formers in hydrogen bonding motifs consistent with complex stoichiometry, and weak hydrogen bonds which facilitate the crystal packing of DMAN and acid co-former components into a regular motif. Possible crystal structure tuning by co-former substitution can aid the rational design of such materials, offering the potential to target solid-state properties that may be influenced by these interactions

Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle.

Subduction related to the ancient supercontinent cycle is poorly constrained by mantle samples. Sublithospheric diamond crystallization records the release of melts from subducting oceanic lithosphere at 300-700 km depths1,2 and is especially suited to tracking the timing and effects of deep mantle processes on supercontinents. Here we show that four isotope systems (Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, U-Pb and Re-Os) applied to Fe-sulfide and CaSiO3 inclusions within 13 sublithospheric diamonds from Juína (Brazil) and Kankan (Guinea) give broadly overlapping crystallization ages from around 450 to 650 million years ago. The intracratonic location of the diamond deposits on Gondwana and the ages, initial isotopic ratios, and trace element content of the inclusions indicate formation from a peri-Gondwanan subduction system. Preservation of these Neoproterozoic-Palaeozoic sublithospheric diamonds beneath Gondwana until its Cretaceous breakup, coupled with majorite geobarometry3,4, suggests that they accreted to and were retained in the lithospheric keel for more than 300 Myr during supercontinent migration. We propose that this process of lithosphere growth-with diamonds attached to the supercontinent keel by the diapiric uprise of depleted buoyant material and pieces of slab crust-could have enhanced supercontinent stability

Isoflavone metabolism in domestic cats (Felis catus): comparison of plasma metabolites detected after ingestion of two different dietary forms of genistein and daidzein

Some felid diets contain isoflavones but the metabolic capacity of cats toward isoflavones is relatively unknown, despite the understanding that isoflavones have divergent biological potential according to their metabolite end products. The objective of this study was to determine the plasma metabolites detectable in domestic cats after exposure to 2 different dietary forms of isoflavones, either as a soy extract tablet ( n = 6) or as part of a dietary matrix ( n = 4). Serial blood samples were collected after isoflavone exposure to identify the plasma metabolites of each cat. Genistein was detected in its unconjugated form or as a monosulfate. Daidzein was detected as both a mono- and disulfate as well as in its unconjugated form. Other daidzein metabolites detected included equol mono- and disulfate, dihydrodaidzein, and O -desmethylangolensin. No β -glucuronide metabolites of either isoflavone were detected. Equol was produced in markedly fewer cats after ingestion of a soy extract tablet as a single oral bolus compared with cats consuming an isoflavone-containing diet. The detectable metabolites of the isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, in domestic cat plasma after dietary ingestion has been described in the present study for the first time. The metabolic capacity for isoflavones by domestic cats appears to be efficient, with only minimal proportions of the ingested amount detected in their unconjugated forms. This has implications for the potential of isoflavones to exert physiological activity in the domestic cat when consumed at concentrations representative of typical dietary intake