Demographics and transport choices of new households on Melbourne’s urban fringe

The growth areas on Melbourne‘s urban fringe are expected to accommodate almost half of the city‘s 600,000 new households over the next 20 years. The growth areas often appear in the literature on transport disadvantage as areas of mortgage stress and social disadvantage, where high levels of car use and ownership are ―forced‖ by long distances and poor access to public transport.This paper finds that residents of the new housing estates in Melbourne‘s growth areas do not fit this description. Households on residential estates in four urban-fringe local government areas are profiled using data from the real-estate company Oliver Hume, and their characteristics compared to growth-area households overall. The paper then examines the car ownership and journey to work of households on these new estates, and asks whether proximity to public transport is a factor in their choice of location

Gender Differences in Social Support, Self-Salience, and Mental Health

Men and women tend to manifest distinct mental health outcomes. Specifically, women report higher levels of internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, whereas men report higher levels externalizing symptoms, such as alcohol abuse (Rosenfield, S., Lennon, M. C., & White, H. R., 2005; Rosenfield, S., & Smith, D., 2010). However, it is unclear what mechanisms shape the gender differences in mental health outcomes. This research will explore two key possible mechanisms: social support and self-salience. Our aims in this study are to examine how and why mental health outcomes vary by gender? And also to what extent do social support and self-salience explain the gender differences in various mental health outcomes? We hypothesized that women will have more social support resources than men. Lower social support among men will further explain their higher externalizing symptoms compared to women. For self-salience, we expected that men will prioritize their own needs above other’s needs and have less permeable boundaries between their self and others. Furthermore, we hypothesized that differences in self-salience by gender will explain women’s higher internalizing symptoms compared to men. Based on The National, Health, Well-being and Perspectives Study survey data of 705 respondents, we found that women have higher social support (companionship and emotional support) compared to men, supporting the hypothesis. However, these differences only partially mediate men’s higher levels of externalizing symptoms. Results revealed that men are less likely than women to let other people\u27s emotion and experiences affect their own. These differences also partially mediate women’s higher levels of internalizing symptoms. This research will help us better understand the processes leading to different mental health outcomes for men and women and provide insights into reducing mental health problems in the United States

Gender Differences in Social Support, Self-Salience, and Mental Health

Men and women tend to manifest distinct mental health outcomes. Specifically, women report higher levels of internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, whereas men report higher levels externalizing symptoms, such as alcohol abuse (Rosenfield, S., Lennon, M. C., & White, H. R., 2005; Rosenfield, S., & Smith, D., 2010). However, it is unclear what mechanisms shape the gender differences in mental health outcomes. This research will explore two key possible mechanisms: social support and self-salience. Our aims in this study are to examine how and why mental health outcomes vary by gender? And also to what extent do social support and self-salience explain the gender differences in various mental health outcomes? We hypothesized that women will have more social support resources than men. Lower social support among men will further explain their higher externalizing symptoms compared to women. For self-salience, we expected that men will prioritize their own needs above other’s needs and have less permeable boundaries between their self and others. Furthermore, we hypothesized that differences in self-salience by gender will explain women’s higher internalizing symptoms compared to men. Based on The National, Health, Well-being and Perspectives Study survey data of 705 respondents, we found that women have higher social support (companionship and emotional support) compared to men, supporting the hypothesis. However, these differences only partially mediate men’s higher levels of externalizing symptoms. Results revealed that men are less likely than women to let other people\u27s emotion and experiences affect their own. These differences also partially mediate women’s higher levels of internalizing symptoms. This research will help us better understand the processes leading to different mental health outcomes for men and women and provide insights into reducing mental health problems in the United States

Augmentation of Extracellular Glutamate in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex and its Role During the Incubation of Cocaine Craving in Rats

Incubation of craving is the phenomenon in which craving intensifies over the course of abstinence. Although understanding craving may be key in understanding why relapse occurs, not much is known about craving, especially the underlying mechanisms that occur in the brain. Clinical and preclinical models have recently implicated the ventromedial prefrontal cortex as one of the key regions in this phenomenon. In order to further characterize this region’s role in incubation, a variety of behavioral, pharmacological, and molecular techniques are used to examine how withdrawal from long access cocaine self-administration directly affects the glutamatergic system. The series of experiments detailed in this dissertation aim to: (1) characterize extracellular glutamate fluctuations in the vmPFC during the incubation of cocaine-seeking, (2) characterize metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGlu) 2/3 changes during both short term and long term withdrawal, and (3) to determine the functional relevance of endogenous glutamate in the two subregions of the vmPFC. Taken together, these experiments suggest that although there seem to be no changes in mGlu2/3 at either point of withdrawal, glutamate in the prelimbic cortex of the vmPFC is functionally relevant in the incubation of cocaine seeking. Together, these results suggest pharmacotherapeutic strategies geared toward damping excitatory glutamate drive within corticofugal projections from the prelimbic cortex may be effective to prevent incubated cue-induced craving during protracted abstinence

protocol for a hospital-based registry study

Introduction Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), the most common type of sleep- disordered breathing, is associated with significant immediate and long-term morbidity, including fragmented sleep and impaired daytime functioning, as well as more severe consequences, such as hypertension, impaired cognitive function and reduced quality of life. Perioperatively, OSA occurs frequently as a consequence of pre-existing vulnerability, surgery and drug effects. The impact of OSA on postoperative respiratory complications (PRCs) needs to be better characterised. As OSA is associated with significant comorbidities, such as obesity, pulmonary hypertension, myocardial infarction and stroke, it is unclear whether OSA or its comorbidities are the mechanism of PRCs. This project aims to (1) develop a novel prediction score identifying surgical patients at high risk of OSA, (2) evaluate the association of OSA risk on PRCs and (3) evaluate if pharmacological agents used during surgery modify this association. Methods Retrospective cohort study using hospital-based electronic patient data and perioperative data on medications administered and vital signs. We will use data from Partners Healthcare clinical databases, Boston, Massachusetts. First, a prediction model for OSA will be developed using OSA diagnostic codes and polysomnography procedural codes as the reference standard, and will be validated by medical record review. Results of the prediction model will be used to classify patients in the database as high, medium or low risk of OSA, and we will investigate the effect of OSA on risk of PRCs. Finally, we will test whether the effect of OSA on PRCs is modified by the use of intraoperative pharmacological agents known to increase upper airway instability, including neuromuscular blockade, neostigmine, opioids, anaesthetics and sedatives. Ethics and dissemination The Partners Human Research Committee approved this study (protocol number: 2014P000218). Study results will be made available in the form of manuscripts for publication and presentations at national and international meetings

iDriving: Toward Safe and Efficient Infrastructure-directed Autonomous Driving

Autonomous driving will become pervasive in the coming decades. iDriving improves the safety of autonomous driving at intersections and increases efficiency by improving traffic throughput at intersections. In iDriving, roadside infrastructure remotely drives an autonomous vehicle at an intersection by offloading perception and planning from the vehicle to roadside infrastructure. To achieve this, iDriving must be able to process voluminous sensor data at full frame rate with a tail latency of less than 100 ms, without sacrificing accuracy. We describe algorithms and optimizations that enable it to achieve this goal using an accurate and lightweight perception component that reasons on composite views derived from overlapping sensors, and a planner that jointly plans trajectories for multiple vehicles. In our evaluations, iDriving always ensures safe passage of vehicles, while autonomous driving can only do so 27% of the time. iDriving also results in 5x lower wait times than other approaches because it enables traffic-light free intersections

Effects of obstructive sleep apnoea risk on postoperative respiratory complications: protocol for a hospital-based registry study

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing, is associated with significant immediate and long-term morbidity, including fragmented sleep and impaired daytime functioning, as well as more severe consequences, such as hypertension, impaired cognitive function and reduced quality of life. Perioperatively, OSA occurs frequently as a consequence of pre-existing vulnerability, surgery and drug effects. The impact of OSA on postoperative respiratory complications (PRCs) needs to be better characterised. As OSA is associated with significant comorbidities, such as obesity, pulmonary hypertension, myocardial infarction and stroke, it is unclear whether OSA or its comorbidities are the mechanism of PRCs. This project aims to (1) develop a novel prediction score identifying surgical patients at high risk of OSA, (2) evaluate the association of OSA risk on PRCs and (3) evaluate if pharmacological agents used during surgery modify this association. Methods: Retrospective cohort study using hospital-based electronic patient data and perioperative data on medications administered and vital signs. We will use data from Partners Healthcare clinical databases, Boston, Massachusetts. First, a prediction model for OSA will be developed using OSA diagnostic codes and polysomnography procedural codes as the reference standard, and will be validated by medical record review. Results of the prediction model will be used to classify patients in the database as high, medium or low risk of OSA, and we will investigate the effect of OSA on risk of PRCs. Finally, we will test whether the effect of OSA on PRCs is modified by the use of intraoperative pharmacological agents known to increase upper airway instability, including neuromuscular blockade, neostigmine, opioids, anaesthetics and sedatives. Ethics and dissemination The Partners Human Research Committee approved this study (protocol number: 2014P000218). Study results will be made available in the form of manuscripts for publication and presentations at national and international meetings

Leucine-rich repeat containing 8A (LRRC8A) is essential for T lymphocyte development and function

Lrrc8a is a ubiquitously expressed gene that encodes a leucine-rich repeat (LRR)–containing protein detected at higher levels on the surface of thymocytes than on other immune cells. We generated Lrrc8a−/− mice to investigate the role of LRRC8A in lymphocyte development and function. Lrrc8a−/− mice had increased prenatal and postnatal mortality, growth retardation, and multiple tissue abnormalities. Lrrc8a−/− mice displayed a modest block in B cell development but intact intrinsic B cell function. In contrast, both Lrrc8a−/− mice and Lrrc8a−/−→Rag2−/− bone marrow chimeras exhibited a severe cell-intrinsic block in early thymic development, with decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of thymocytes, and impaired peripheral T cell function. Thymic epithelial cells expressed an LRRC8A ligand that was critical for double-negative to double-positive thymocyte differentiation and survival in vitro. LRRC8A constitutively associated with the GRB2–GAB2 complex and lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK) in thymocytes. LRRC8A ligation activated AKT via the LCK–ZAP–70–GAB2–PI3K pathway, and AKT phosphorylation was markedly reduced in the thymus of Lrrc8a−/− mice. These findings reveal an essential role for LRRC8A in T cell development, survival, and function

Benchmarking algorithms for genomic prediction of complex traits

The usefulness of Genomic Prediction (GP) in crop and livestock breeding programs has led to efforts to develop new and improved GP approaches including non-linear algorithm, such as artificial neural networks (ANN) (i.e. deep learning) and gradient tree boosting. However, the performance of these algorithms has not been compared in a systematic manner using a wide range of GP datasets and models. Using data of 18 traits across six plant species with different marker densities and training population sizes, we compared the performance of six linear and five non-linear algorithms, including ANNs. First, we found that hyperparameter selection was critical for all non-linear algorithms and that feature selection prior to model training was necessary for ANNs when the markers greatly outnumbered the number of training lines. Across all species and trait combinations, no one algorithm performed best, however predictions based on a combination of results from multiple GP algorithms (i.e. ensemble predictions) performed consistently well. While linear and non-linear algorithms performed best for a similar number of traits, the performance of non-linear algorithms vary more between traits than that of linear algorithms. Although ANNs did not perform best for any trait, we identified strategies (i.e. feature selection, seeded starting weights) that boosted their performance near the level of other algorithms. These results, together with the fact that even small improvements in GP performance could accumulate into large genetic gains over the course of a breeding program, highlights the importance of algorithm selection for the prediction of trait value

Agropastoral economies and land use in Bronze Age Western Anatolia

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