Legal Requirements for Widespread Implementation of CO2 Sequestration in Depleted Oil Reservoirs

This comment explores the potential of carbon sequestration as a means to address global warming. The author discusses whether the Underground Injection Control Program of the Safe Drinking Water Act provides a regulatory structure for carbon sequestration, as well as other amendments to the current statutory framework to facilitate the use of carbon sequestration

Fostering Higher Education: A postsecondary access and retention intervention for youth with foster care experience

Most youth in foster care aspire to obtain higher education, but face daunting obstacles in doing so. While societal interest and effort to support foster youth in achieving higher education has grown, very few supports have evidence to show that they are effective at improving postsecondary outcomes. In an effort to address the dearth of clearly articulated, evidence-based postsecondary support approaches for foster youth, we have developed Fostering Higher Education (FHE), a comprehensive, structured, and evaluable postsecondary access and retention intervention composed of elements (professional educational advocacy, substance abuse prevention, mentoring) that are either evidence based or promising based on the scientific literature and their ability to address the outcomes of interest. This paper describes the development and youth usability and practitioner feasibility testing of the FHE intervention approach, which was developed through funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Youth usability feedback was primarily positive, with the majority of participants indicating they found the FHE activities interesting and useful, and were comfortable participating in them. Practitioner feasibility feedback was also primarily positive, with almost unanimous ratings of the FHE intervention components as very important to provide to youth and that all would be feasible for an organization to implement, though the mentoring components were seen as slightly less feasible than other components. Next steps and implications of this intervention development process are discussed. •This paper describes the development of Fostering Higher Education (FHE).•FHE is a postsecondary access and retention intervention for youth in foster care.•Youth usability testing found FHE to be interesting to and comfortable for youth.•Practitioner feasibility testing found FHE was perceived as feasible to implement

Professional and youth perspectives on higher education-focused interventions for youth transitioning from foster care

Youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood access and succeed in college at much lower rates than the general population. A variety of services exist to support youth with their postsecondary goals, but few if any have evidence for their effectiveness. As part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded intervention development project to design Fostering Higher Education, a structured, testable postsecondary access and retention intervention for youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood, focus groups were conducted with community stakeholders to collect recommendations for how to most effectively structure the intervention. Analyses of focus group findings resulted in four theme groups: (1) general recommendations for intervention development; (2) recommendations for an educational advocacy intervention component; (3) recommendations for a mentoring intervention component; and (4) recommendations for a substance abuse prevention intervention component. These themes offered a variety of important insights for developing interventions in a way that is usable for youth and feasible for communities to implement. •Foster care service providers and youth participated in focus groups.•Focus groups explored recommendations for postsecondary interventions.•Participants emphasized the importance of flexible, relationship-based programming.•Programs must be developed, implemented through community collaborative processes.•Programming must be non-stigmatizing, with sensitive material delivered skillfully

Assessment of fear and anxiety associated behaviors, physiology and neural circuits in rats with reduced serotonin transporter (SERT) levels

Abstract Genetic variation in serotonin transporter (SERT) that reduces transcriptional efficiency is associated with higher anxiety and fear traits and a greater incidence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although previous studies have shown that rats with no expression of SERT (SERT−/−) have increased baseline anxiety behaviors, SERT+/− rats with low SERT expression (and more relevant to the clinical condition with low SERT expression) do not. Yet, no systematic studies of fear acquisition/extinction or their underlying neural mechanisms have been conducted in this preclinical genetic SERT+/− model. Here we sought to determine if SERT+/− or SERT−/−, compared to wildtype, rats would show exacerbated panic responses and/or persistent conditioned fear responses that may be associated with PTSD or phobia vulnerability. Results: Only SERT−/− rats showed increased baseline anxiety-like behaviors with heightened panic respiratory responses. However SERT+/− (also SERT-/-) rats showed enhanced acquisition of fear and delayed extinction of fear that was associated with changes in serotonergic-related genes (e.g., reduced 5-HT1A receptor) and disrupted inhibition within the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Furthermore, the disrupted fear responses in SERT+/− rats were normalized with 5HT1A antagonist infusions into the BLA. Enhanced acquisition and failure to extinguish fear memories displayed by both SERT−/− and SERT+/− rats are cardinal symptoms of disabling anxiety disorders such as phobias and PTSD. The data here support the hypothesis that reduced SERT function is a genetic risk that disrupts select gene expression and network properties in the amygdala that could result in vulnerability to these syndromes

Assessment of fear and anxiety associated behaviors, physiology and neural circuits in rats with reduced serotonin transporter (SERT) levels

Genetic variation in serotonin transporter (SERT) that reduces transcriptional efficiency is associated with higher anxiety and fear traits and a greater incidence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although previous studies have shown that rats with no expression of SERT (SERT-/-) have increased baseline anxiety behaviors, SERT+/- rats with low SERT expression (and more relevant to the clinical condition with low SERT expression) do not. Yet, no systematic studies of fear acquisition/extinction or their underlying neural mechanisms have been conducted in this preclinical genetic SERT+/- model. Here we sought to determine if SERT+/- or SERT-/-, compared to wildtype, rats would show exacerbated panic responses and/or persistent conditioned fear responses that may be associated with PTSD or phobia vulnerability. Results: Only SERT-/- rats showed increased baseline anxiety-like behaviors with heightened panic respiratory responses. However SERT+/- (also SERT-/-) rats showed enhanced acquisition of fear and delayed extinction of fear that was associated with changes in serotonergic-related genes (e.g., reduced 5-HT1A receptor) and disrupted inhibition within the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Furthermore, the disrupted fear responses in SERT+/- rats were normalized with 5HT1A antagonist infusions into the BLA. Enhanced acquisition and failure to extinguish fear memories displayed by both SERT-/- and SERT+/- rats are cardinal symptoms of disabling anxiety disorders such as phobias and PTSD. The data here support the hypothesis that reduced SERT function is a genetic risk that disrupts select gene expression and network properties in the amygdala that could result in vulnerability to these syndromes

Detecting Clouds Associated with Jet Engine Ice Crystal Icing

International audienceIn the past two decades over 150 jet engine power-loss and damage events have been attributed to a phenomenon known as Ice Crystal Icing (ICI). Ingestion of large numbers of ice particles into the engine core are thought to be responsible for these events which typically occur at high altitudes near large convective systems in tropical air masses. In recent years scientists, engineers, aviation regulators and airlines from around the world have collaborated to better understand the relevant meteorological processes associated with ICI events, solve critical engineering problems, develop new certification standards, and devise mitigation strategies for the aviation industry. One area of research is the development of nowcasting techniques based on available remote sensing technology and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models to identify areas of high ice water content (IWC) and enable the provision of alerts to the aviation industry. Multiple techniques have been developed using geostationary and polar orbiting satellite products, NWP model fields, and ground based radar data as the basis for HIWC products. Targeted field experiments in tropical regions with high incidence of ICI events have provided data for product validation and refinement of these methods. Beginning in 2015, research teams have assembled at a series of annual workshops to exchange ideas and standardize methods for evaluating performance of HIWC detection products. This paper provides an overview of the approaches used and the current skill for identifying HIWC conditions. Recommendations for future work in this area are also presented

Monogenic and Polygenic Contributions to QTc Prolongation in the Population

Background: Rare sequence variation in genes underlying cardiac repolarization and common polygenic variation influence QT interval duration. However, current clinical genetic testing of individuals with unexplained QT prolongation is restricted to examination of monogenic rare variants. The recent emergence of large-scale biorepositories with sequence data enables examination of the joint contribution of rare and common variations to the QT interval in the population. Methods: We performed a genome-wide association study of the QTc in 84 630 UK Biobank participants and created a polygenic risk score (PRS). Among 26 976 participants with whole-genome sequencing and ECG data in the TOPMed (Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine) program, we identified 160 carriers of putative pathogenic rare variants in 10 genes known to be associated with the QT interval. We examined QTc associations with the PRS and with rare variants in TOPMed. Results: Fifty-four independent loci were identified by genome-wide association study in the UK Biobank. Twenty-one loci were novel, of which 12 were replicated in TOPMed. The PRS composed of 1 110 494 common variants was significantly associated with the QTc in TOPMed (ΔQTc/decile of PRS=1.4 ms [95% CI, 1.3 to 1.5]; P=1.1×10-196). Carriers of putative pathogenic rare variants had longer QTc than noncarriers (ΔQTc=10.9 ms [95% CI, 7.4 to 14.4]). Of individuals with QTc>480 ms, 23.7% carried either a monogenic rare variant or had a PRS in the top decile (3.4% monogenic, 21% top decile of PRS). Conclusions: QTc duration in the population is influenced by both rare variants in genes underlying cardiac repolarization and polygenic risk, with a sizeable contribution from polygenic risk. Comprehensive assessment of the genetic determinants of QTc prolongation includes incorporation of both polygenic and monogenic risk