Amine-Gold Linked Single-Molecule Junctions: Experiment and Theory

The measured conductance distribution for single molecule benzenediamine-gold junctions, based on 59,000 individual conductance traces recorded while breaking a gold point contact in solution, has a clear peak at 0.0064 G$_{0}$ with a width of $\pm$ 40%. Conductance calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) for 15 distinct junction geometries show a similar spread. Differences in local structure have a limited influence on conductance because the amine-Au bonding motif is well-defined and flexible. The average calculated conductance (0.046 G$_{0}$) is seven times larger than experiment, suggesting the importance of many-electron corrections beyond DFT

MCM-test: a fuzzy-set-theory-based approach to differential analysis of gene pathways

Abstract Background Gene pathway can be defined as a group of genes that interact with each other to perform some biological processes. Along with the efforts to identify the individual genes that play vital roles in a particular disease, there is a growing interest in identifying the roles of gene pathways in such diseases. Results This paper proposes an innovative fuzzy-set-theory-based approach, Multi-dimensional Cluster Misclassification test (MCM-test), to measure the significance of gene pathways in a particular disease. Experiments have been conducted on both synthetic data and real world data. Results on published diabetes gene expression dataset and a list of predefined pathways from KEGG identified OXPHOS pathway involved in oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria and other mitochondrial related pathways to be deregulated in diabetes patients. Our results support the previously supported notion that mitochondrial dysfunction is an important event in insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. Conclusion Our experiments results suggest that MCM-test can be successfully used in pathway level differential analysis of gene expression datasets. This approach also provides a new solution to the general problem of measuring the difference between two groups of data, which is one of the most essential problems in most areas of research

Neighbourhood characteristics, lifestyle factors, and child development: Secondary analysis of the All our families cohort study

BackgroundNeighbourhood characteristics have been found to influence child development, but little is known about lifestyle factors that may moderate this relationship, which can provide modifiable targets for policies and programing. This study investigated the association between neighbourhood characteristics (e.g., deprivation, disorder) during pregnancy and child development at age 5 in relation to various lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity, parent-child reading, community resource use) during early childhood.MethodsA secondary analysis was conducted using multilevel modeling of data from the All Our Families cohort, recruited in Canada from 2008 to 2010. Participants self-reported on demographics during pregnancy, lifestyle factors at 3 years, and child development at 5 years using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3). Neighbourhood deprivation was evaluated using the Vancouver Area Deprivation Index (VANDIX), while disorder was measured using police services' community crime reports.ResultsGeocoded information was available for 2,444 participants. After adjusting for covariates, multilevel modeling indicated a significant negative association between neighbourhood deprivation and overall child development (b = −.726, 95% CI: −1.344, −.120). Parent-child reading was found to be a significant moderator of the effect of neighbourhood disorder (b = .005, 95% CI: .001, .009). There were no statistically significant moderation effects for physical activity or community resource use.ConclusionNeighbourhood deprivation during pregnancy is associated with early child development. Parent-child reading may function as a protective factor in the presence of higher neighbourhood disorder. Overall, neighbourhood-level effects should be considered in policies and community programs that promote family and child well-being

The Evaluation of a Brief Motivational Intervention to Promote Intention to Participate in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an effective treatment for cardiovascular disease, yet many referred patients do not participate. Motivational interviewing could be beneficial in this context, but efficacy with prospective CR patients has not been examined. This study investigated the impact of motivational interviewing on intention to participate in CR. Methods Individuals recovering from acute coronary syndrome (n = 96) were randomized to motivational interviewing or usual care, following CR referral but before CR enrollment. The primary outcome was intention to attend CR. Secondary outcomes included CR beliefs, barriers, self-efficacy, illness perception, social support, intervention acceptability, and CR participation. Results Compared to those in usual care, patients who received the motivational intervention reported higher intention to attend CR (p = .001), viewed CR as more necessary (p = .036), had fewer concerns about exercise (p = .011), and attended more exercise sessions (p = .008). There was an indirect effect of the intervention on CR enrollment (b = 0.45, 95% CI 0.04–1.18) and CR adherence (b = 2.59, 95% CI 0.95–5.03) via higher levels of intention. Overall, patients reported high intention to attend CR (M = 6.20/7.00, SD = 1.67), most (85%) enrolled, and they attended an average of 65% of scheduled CR sessions. Conclusion A single collaborative conversation about CR can increase both intention to attend CR and actual program adherence. Practice Implications The findings will inform future efforts to optimize behavioral interventions to enhance CR participation

Translating the Knowledge Gap Between Researchers and Communication Designers for Improved mHealth Research

Our industry insight focuses on the challenges for health researchers collaborating with communication designers during the development of an App for improving maternal mental health and parenting stress. We discuss the challenges around explicating and communicating tacit and domain knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. We believe this report can widen communication design’s traditional focus on users in mHealth research to consider partnerships with academic researchers. The lessons learned from our experience developing a mHealth program can be used to reduce challenges in future mHealth research, especially for collaborations between health researchers and communications designers. Considering the growth of interest in mHealth, this is extremely relevant for future team satisfaction, the optimal use of research funds and industry time, and faster development of effective mHealth tools.This is the accepted manuscript version of the following publication: Rioux, C., Weedon, S., MacKinnon, A. L., Watts, D., Salisbury, M. R., Penner-Goeke, L., Simpson, K. M., Harrington, J., Tomfohr-Madsen, L. M. & Roos, L. E. (2022). Translating the Knowledge Gap Between Researchers and Communication Designers for Improved mHealth Research. SIGDOC '22: The 40th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, USA, 157–160. doi: 10.1145/3513130.3558997BEAM was funded by a Research Manitoba COVID-19 Rapid Response Operating Grant. CR was supported by a Postdoctoral fellowship from Research Manitoba and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. ALM was supported by a Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (#01353-000).Ye

SLEPR: A Sample-Level Enrichment-Based Pathway Ranking Method — Seeking Biological Themes through Pathway-Level Consistency

Analysis of microarray and other high throughput data often involves identification of genes consistently up or down-regulated across samples as the first step in extraction of biological meaning. This gene-level paradigm can be limited as a result of valid sample fluctuations and biological complexities. In this report, we describe a novel method, SLEPR, which eliminates this limitation by relying on pathway-level consistencies. Our method first selects the sample-level differentiated genes from each individual sample, capturing genes missed by other analysis methods, ascertains the enrichment levels of associated pathways from each of those lists, and then ranks annotated pathways based on the consistency of enrichment levels of individual samples from both sample classes. As a proof of concept, we have used this method to analyze three public microarray datasets with a direct comparison with the GSEA method, one of the most popular pathway-level analysis methods in the field. We found that our method was able to reproduce the earlier observations with significant improvements in depth of coverage for validated or expected biological themes, but also produced additional insights that make biological sense. This new method extends existing analyses approaches and facilitates integration of different types of HTP data

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological distress in pregnancy: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Clinically significant psychological distress in pregnancy is common, with epidemiological research suggesting that between 15 and 25 % of pregnant women experience elevated symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Untreated psychological distress in pregnancy is associated with poor obstetrical outcomes, changes in maternal physiology, elevated incidence of child physical and psychological disorders, and is predictive of maternal postpartum mood disorders. Despite the wide-ranging impact of antenatal psychological distress on mothers and their children, there is a gap in our knowledge about the most effective treatments that are available for psychological distress experienced in pregnancy. Additionally, no trials have focused on potential physiological changes that may occur as a result of receiving mindfulness training in pregnancy. The proposed trial will determine the effectiveness of an 8-week modified Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) intervention delivered during pregnancy. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) design with repeated measures will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of MBCT to treat psychological distress in pregnancy. A sample of 60 consenting pregnant women aged 18 years and above will be enrolled and randomized to the experimental (MBCT) or control (treatment as usual) condition. Primary (e.g., symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety), secondary (cortisol, blood pressure (BP), heart rate variability (HRV), and sleep) and other outcome data (e.g., psychological diagnoses) will be collected via a combination of laboratory visits and at-home assessments from both groups at baseline (T(1)), immediately following the intervention (T(2)), and at 3 months postpartum (T(3)). Descriptive statistics will be used to describe sample characteristics. Data will be analyzed using an intention-to-treat approach. Hierarchical linear models will be used to test intervention effects on primary and secondary outcomes. DISCUSSION: The trial is expected to improve knowledge about evidence-based treatments for psychological distress experienced in pregnancy and to evaluate the potential impact of mindfulness-based interventions on maternal physiology. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02214732, registered on 7 August 2014. Protocol Version 2.0., 5 September 2016. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1601-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users