Tropical cyclone wind speed constraints from resultant storm surge deposition : a 2500 year reconstruction of hurricane activity from St. Marks, FL

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 14 (2013): 2993–3008, doi:10.1002/ggge.20217.Recent work suggests that the patterns of intense (≥category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) hurricane strikes over the last few millennia might differ from that of overall hurricane activity during this period. Prior studies typically rely on assigning a threshold storm intensity required to produce a sedimentological overwash signal at a particular coastal site based on historical analogs. Here, we improve on this approach by presenting a new inverse-model technique that constrains the most likely wind speeds required to transport the maximum grain size within resultant storm deposits. As a case study, the technique is applied to event layers observed in sediments collected from a coastal sinkhole in northwestern Florida. We find that (1) simulated wind speeds for modern deposits are consistent with the intensities for historical hurricanes affecting the site, (2) all deposits throughout the ∼2500 year record are capable of being produced by hurricanes, and (3) a period of increased intense hurricane frequency is observed between ∼1700 and ∼600 years B.P. and decreased intense storm frequency is observed from ∼2500 to ∼1700 and ∼600 years B.P. to the present. This is consistent with prior reconstructions from nearby sites. Changes in the frequency of intense hurricane strikes may be related to the degree of penetration of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation.2014-02-2

How unique was Hurricane Sandy? Sedimentary reconstructions of extreme flooding from New York Harbor

© The Author(s), 2014. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 4 (2014): 7366, doi:10.1038/srep07366.The magnitude of flooding in New York City by Hurricane Sandy is commonly believed to be extremely rare, with estimated return periods near or greater than 1000 years. However, the brevity of tide gauge records result in significant uncertainties when estimating the uniqueness of such an event. Here we compare resultant deposition by Hurricane Sandy to earlier storm-induced flood layers in order to extend records of flooding to the city beyond the instrumental dataset. Inversely modeled storm conditions from grain size trends show that a more compact yet more intense hurricane in 1821 CE probably resulted in a similar storm tide and a significantly larger storm surge. Our results indicate the occurrence of additional flood events like Hurricane Sandy in recent centuries, and highlight the inadequacies of the instrumental record in estimating current flood risk by such extreme events.Funding for this work was provided by the Hudson River Foundation Expedited Grant #004/12E, the Hudson River Foundation Graduate Fellowship 02–13, the National Science Foundation (RAPID grant #1313859 and instrument and facility support via grant IF-0949313), and the Dalio Explore Fund

Voltage-Dependent Structural Interactions in the Shaker K+ Channel

Using a strategy related to intragenic suppression, we previously obtained evidence for structural interactions in the voltage sensor of Shaker K+ channels between residues E283 in S2 and R368 and R371 in S4 (Tiwari-Woodruff, S.K., C.T. Schulteis, A.F. Mock, and D.M. Papazian. 1997. Biophys. J. 72:1489–1500). Because R368 and R371 are involved in the conformational changes that accompany voltage-dependent activation, we tested the hypothesis that these S4 residues interact with E283 in S2 in a subset of the conformational states that make up the activation pathway in Shaker channels. First, the location of residue 283 at hyperpolarized and depolarized potentials was inferred by substituting a cysteine at that position and determining its reactivity with hydrophilic, sulfhydryl-specific probes. The results indicate that position 283 reacts with extracellularly applied sulfhydryl reagents with similar rates at both hyperpolarized and depolarized potentials. We conclude that E283 is located near the extracellular surface of the protein in both resting and activated conformations. Second, we studied the functional phenotypes of double charge reversal mutations between positions 283 and 368 and between 283 and 371 to gain insight into the conformations in which these positions approach each other most closely. We found that combining charge reversal mutations at positions 283 and 371 stabilized an activated conformation of the channel, and dramatically slowed transitions into and out of this state. In contrast, charge reversal mutations at positions 283 and 368 stabilized a closed conformation, which by virtue of the inferred position of 368 corresponds to a partially activated (intermediate) closed conformation. From these results, we propose a preliminary model for the rearrangement of structural interactions of the voltage sensor during activation of Shaker K+ channels

Design of a multi-center immunophenotyping analysis of peripheral blood, sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS)

Background Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcomes in COPD Study (SPIROMICS) is a multi-center longitudinal, observational study to identify novel phenotypes and biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a subset of 300 subjects enrolled at six clinical centers, we are performing flow cytometric analyses of leukocytes from induced sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and peripheral blood. To minimize several sources of variability, we use a “just-in-time” design that permits immediate staining without pre-fixation of samples, followed by centralized analysis on a single instrument. Methods The Immunophenotyping Core prepares 12-color antibody panels, which are shipped to the six Clinical Centers shortly before study visits. Sputum induction occurs at least two weeks before a bronchoscopy visit, at which time peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage are collected. Immunostaining is performed at each clinical site on the day that the samples are collected. Samples are fixed and express shipped to the Immunophenotyping Core for data acquisition on a single modified LSR II flow cytometer. Results are analyzed using FACS Diva and FloJo software and cross-checked by Core scientists who are blinded to subject data. Results Thus far, a total of 152 sputum samples and 117 samples of blood and BAL have been returned to the Immunophenotyping Core. Initial quality checks indicate useable data from 126 sputum samples (83%), 106 blood samples (91%) and 91 BAL samples (78%). In all three sample types, we are able to identify and characterize the activation state or subset of multiple leukocyte cell populations (including CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, B cells, monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils), thereby demonstrating the validity of the antibody panel. Conclusions Our study design, which relies on bi-directional communication between clinical centers and the Core according to a pre-specified protocol, appears to reduce several sources of variability often seen in flow cytometric studies involving multiple clinical sites. Because leukocytes contribute to lung pathology in COPD, these analyses will help achieve SPIROMICS aims of identifying subgroups of patients with specific COPD phenotypes. Future analyses will correlate cell-surface markers on a given cell type with smoking history, spirometry, airway measurements, and other parameters. Trial registration This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT01969344

Kate 2012

Each year, kate seeks to: explore ideas about normative gender, sex, and sexuality work against oppression and hierarchies of power in any and all forms serve as a voice for race and gender equity as well as queer positivity encourage the silent to speak and feel less afraid build a zine and community that we care about and trusthttps://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/kate/1007/thumbnail.jp

Development of measures to evaluate youth advocacy for obesity prevention

BACKGROUND: Youth advocacy has been successfully used in substance use prevention but is a novel strategy in obesity prevention. As a precondition for building an evidence base for youth advocacy for obesity prevention, the present study aimed to develop and evaluate measures of youth advocacy mediator, process, and outcome variables. METHODS: The Youth Engagement and Action for Health (YEAH!) program (San Diego County, CA) engaged youth and adult group leaders in advocacy for school and neighborhood improvements to nutrition and physical activity environments. Based on a model of youth advocacy, scales were developed to assess mediators, intervention processes, and proximal outcomes of youth advocacy for obesity prevention. Youth (baseline n = 136) and adult group leaders (baseline n = 47) completed surveys before and after advocacy projects. With baseline data, we created youth advocacy and adult leadership subscales using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and described their psychometric properties. RESULTS: Youth came from 21 groups, were ages 9–22, and most were female. Most youth were non-White, and the largest ethnic group was Hispanic/Latino (35.6 %). The proposed factor structure held for most (14/20 youth and 1/2 adult) subscales. Modifications were necessary for 6 of the originally proposed 20 youth and 1 of the 2 adult multi-item subscales, which involved splitting larger subscales into two components and dropping low-performing items. CONCLUSIONS: Internally consistent scales to assess mediators, intervention processes, and proximal outcomes of youth advocacy for obesity prevention were developed. The resulting scales can be used in future studies to evaluate youth advocacy programs

Prenatal Hyperandrogenization Induces Metabolic and Endocrine Alterations Which Depend on the Levels of Testosterone Exposure

Prenatal hyperandrogenism is able to induce polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in rats. The aim of the present study was to establish if the levels of prenatal testosterone may determine the extent of metabolic and endocrine alterations during the adult life. Pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were prenatally injected with either 2 or 5 mg free testosterone (groups T2 and T5 respectively) from day 16 to day 19 day of gestation. Female offspring from T2 and T5 displayed different phenotype of PCOS during adult life. Offspring from T2 showed hyperandrogenism, ovarian cysts and ovulatory cycles whereas those from T5 displayed hyperandrogenism, ovarian cysts and anovulatory cycles. Both group showed increased circulating glucose levels after the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT; an evaluation of insulin resistance). IPGTT was higher in T5 rats and directly correlated with body weight at prepubertal age. However, the decrease in the body weight at prepubertal age was compensated during adult life. Although both groups showed enhanced ovarian steroidogenesis, it appears that the molecular mechanisms involved were different. The higher dose of testosterone enhanced the expression of both the protein that regulates cholesterol availability (the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR)) and the protein expression of the transcriptional factor: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma). Prenatal hyperandrogenization induced an anti-oxidant response that prevented a possible pro-oxidant status. The higher dose of testosterone induced a pro-inflammatory state in ovarian tissue mediated by increased levels of prostaglandin E (PG) and the protein expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2, the limiting enzyme of PGs synthesis). In summary, our data show that the levels of testosterone prenatally injected modulate the uterine environment and that this, in turn, would be responsible for the endocrine and metabolic abnormalities and the phenotype of PCOS during the adult life