The resilience of urban Aboriginal children and their caregivers

The current health and social disparities between Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people pose significant challenges for Aboriginal communities. These disparities are widely attributed to the historical and ongoing trauma associated with European colonisation, including catastrophic population loss, institutionalised discrimination, dispossession of land, loss of culture and language, and the removal of children. In the face of these challenges Aboriginal people have shown remarkable resilience. Resilience is commonly described as ‘positive adaption in the context of adversity’. Despite a rich history of resilience research, the scientific literature describing Aboriginal resilience is sparse. The aim of this research is to investigate resilience within an urban Aboriginal context and identify factors that promote it. This thesis includes a systematic review of the psychosocial correlates of mental health and resilience among Indigenous children from high-income countries, a mixed methods investigation of the resilience of children from four urban Australian communities, a cross-sectional assessment of the resilience of caregivers of Aboriginal children, and a systematic review of peer reviewed studies that evaluated social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) programs for Aboriginal young people. For children, the presence of stable home environments, supportive social networks, connection to culture, regular exercise and the opportunity to set and attain positive goals were all seen to be associated with resilience. Caregivers who lived in stable home environments were more likely to be resilient; however, the poor physical health of caregivers and their families posed a significant threat to resilience. The number of evaluated SEWB programs was small, and the quality of evidence was predominantly low, reflecting the nascent stage of Aboriginal SEWB and resilience research. For Aboriginal families, this thesis highlights risks that are associated with higher order determinants of poor health. Greater provision of initiatives that can promote stable, strong, cohesive and physically healthy Aboriginal families are needed to build resilience. More rigorous program evaluations that have the power to inform large-scale strategies to enhance resilience are warranted

A novel DRD2 single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with schizophrenia predicts age of onset: HapMap tag-sincle-nucleotide polymorphism analysis

Background: Dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) is thought to be critical in regulating the dopaminergic pathway in the brain which is known to be important in the aetiology of schizophrenia. It is therefore not surprising that most antipsychotic medication acts on the Dopamine D2 receptor. DRD2 is widely expressed in brain, levels are reduced in brains of schizophrenia patients and DRD2 polymorphisms have been associated with reduced brain expression. We have previously identified a genetic variant in DRD2, rs6277 to be strongly implicated in schizophrenia susceptibility. Methods: To identity new associations in the DRD2 gene with disease status and clinical severity, we genotyped seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DRD2 using a multiplex mass spectrometry method. SNPs were chosen using a haplotype block-based gene-tagging approach so the entire DRD2 gene was represented. Results: One polymorphism rs2734839 was found to be significantly associated with schizophrenia as well as late onset age. Individuals carrying the genetic variation were more than twice as likely to have schizophrenia compared to controls. Conclusions: Our results suggest that DRD2 genetic variation is a good indicator for schizophrenia risk and may also be used as a predictor age of onset

Using quantum effects in nanomaterials for unique identification

Authentication and identification are critical to information security systems. Traditionally, these processes are achieved with the use of secret keys that are stored in electronic memories, or with difficult-to-clone systems (e.g., fingerprints or holograms). The persistent development of technology, however, means that the barrier to cloning such systems is becoming lower. Moreover, counterfeiting, device spoofing, and identity fraud are formidable problems in all markets. The ideal solution, therefore, would be to produce a nano-fingerprint from the atomic arrangement of a structure embedded within a device. By shrinking down to the atomic scale, the challenge of cloning the system becomes as difficult as possible, i.e., the density of secure information is maximized and the number of resources required to read the fingerprint is minimized

Super-Enhancer-Mediated RNA Processing Revealed by Integrative MicroRNA Network Analysis

Super-enhancers are an emerging subclass of regulatory regions controlling cell identity and disease genes. However, their biological function and impact on miRNA networks are unclear. Here, we report that super-enhancers drive the biogenesis of master miRNAs crucial for cell identity by enhancing both transcription and Drosha/DGCR8-mediated primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) processing. Super-enhancers, together with broad H3K4me3 domains, shape a tissue-specific and evolutionarily conserved atlas of miRNA expression and function. CRISPR/Cas9 genomics revealed that super-enhancer constituents act cooperatively and facilitate Drosha/DGCR8 recruitment and pri-miRNA processing to boost cell-specific miRNA production. The BET-bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 preferentially inhibits super-enhancer-directed cotranscriptional pri-miRNA processing. Furthermore, super-enhancers are characterized by pervasive interaction with DGCR8/Drosha and DGCR8/Drosha-regulated mRNA stability control, suggesting unique RNA regulation at super-enhancers. Finally, super-enhancers mark multiple miRNAs associated with cancer hallmarks. This study presents principles underlying miRNA biology in health and disease and an unrecognized higher-order property of super-enhancers in RNA processing beyond transcription. Keywords: microRNA; super-enhancer; broad H3K4me3 domain; Drosha; DGCR8; Brd4; cancerUnited States. Public Health Service (Grant R01-CA133404)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Grant P30-CA14051

Cigarette smoking in young adults: the influence of the HTR2A T102C polymorphism and punishment sensitivity

Background: The C allele of a common polymorphism of the serotonin 2A receptor (HTR2A) gene, T102C, results in reduced synthesis of 5-HT2A receptors and has been associated with current smoking status in adults. The -1438A/G polymorphism, located in the regulatory region of this gene, is in linkage disequilibrium with T102C, and the A allele is associated with increased promoter activity and with smoking in adult males. We investigated the contributions of the HTR2A gene, chronic psychological stress, and impulsivity to the prediction of cigarette smoking status and dependence in young adults. Methods: T102C and -1438A/G genotyping was conducted on 132 healthy Caucasian young adults (47 smokers) who completed self-report measures of chronic stress, depressive symptoms, impulsive personality and cigarette use. Results: A logistic regression analysis of current cigarette smoker user status, after adjusting for gender, depressive symptom severity and chronic stress, indicated that the T102C TT genotype relative to the CC genotype (OR = 7.53), and lower punishment sensitivity (OR = 0.91) were each significant predictive risk factors. However, for number of cigarettes smoked, only lower punishment sensitivity was a significant predictor (OR = 0.81). Conclusions: These data indicate the importance of the T102C polymorphism to tobacco use but not number of cigarettes smoked for Caucasian young adults. Future studies should examine whether this is explained by effects of nicotine on the serotonin system. Lower punishment sensitivity increased risk of both smoking and of greater consumption, perhaps via a reduced sensitivity to cigarette health warnings and negative physiological effects

The DDD-III: A Tool for Empirical Research in Adaptive Organizations

Proceedings of the 1996 Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium: Command and Control in the Information AgeCurrent research involving adaptive archi tectures for Joint Command and Control (C2) seeks to examine the interactions between task (or mission) structure, and the way in which the organization charged with the mission is itself structured. In order to examine these interactions empirically, a flexible research paradigm is required with which to conduct controlled experiments in a laboratory environment. The 3rd-generation Distributed Dynamic Decision.making (DDD-111) paradigm was designed to meet this need by treating an air, sea and ground environment, a variety of task classes, and controllable platforms with subplatforms, sensors and weapons (resources). DDD-111 is implemented as a multi-player, real-time simulation running in a UNIX environment. The design of the DDD-111 focuses on the dynamic/execution phase of the mission and allows for manipulation of key structural variables in task and organizational dimen- sions. The DDD-111 has the ability to con- strain and/or to manipulate organizational structures such as authority, information, communication, resource ownership, task assignment, etc. This paper describes the new DDD-111 paradigm, its extensions beyond the DDD-11, the dimensions of task and organization structure considered, and how they are operationalized

Factors Accounting for Variability in Superintendent Ratings of Academic Preparation

This study utilized findings from the 2010 decennial study of the school superintendent to determine the extent to which four predictor variables (courses, professor credibility, size [enrollment of employing school district], and gender) accounted for variability in superintendent overall ratings of their academic preparation. The standardized regression coefficients indicate that most of the variance accounted for in the linear equation was due to ratings of professor credibility and ratings of the perceived value of courses. Neither the institutional variable, school district size, nor the personal variable, gender, accounted for meaningful variance in the overall ratings. Recommendations are made for extending this line of inquiry

Examining Variability in Superintendent Community Involvement

This study examined the extent to which four independent variables (age, gender, education level, and district type) accounted for variability in superintendent community involvement. Two covariates associated with levels of community involvement (disposition toward community involvement and district enrollment) were infused to assess the impact of the independent variables. Analysis revealed that the model accounted for 8% of the variance as indicated both by R2 and by adjusted R2. Given the number of respondents (1,867), this is considered a medium effect having practical implications in the applied setting. Among the four independent variables, only a single main effect (district type) was found

Student Motives for Taking Online Courses in Educational Administration

This study was conducted with students enrolled in a master’s degree program in educational administration at a private research university that offered all required courses in both online and in-class formats. The purposes were to determine (a) the extent to which online courses were selected, (b) the level of importance students placed on four common motives for taking online courses, and (c) levels of association between the importance of values and two demographic variables (employment level and years of teaching experience). The extent to which students took online courses varied considerably. Convenience and flexibility were the most important motives and instructional preference was the least important motive. Although associations between each motive and the two demographic variables were small, the correlation coefficients for convenience and teaching experience and for flexibility and teaching experience were slightly higher than the others