How Do Microphysical Processes Influence Large-Scale Precipitation Variability and Extremes?

DOE PAGES

Hagos, Samson; Ruby Leung, L.; Zhao, Chun; ...

2018-02-10

Convection permitting simulations using the Model for Prediction Across Scales-Atmosphere (MPAS-A) are used to examine how microphysical processes affect large-scale precipitation variability and extremes. An episode of the Madden-Julian Oscillation is simulated using MPAS-A with a refined region at 4-km grid spacing over the Indian Ocean. It is shown that cloud microphysical processes regulate the precipitable water (PW) statistics. Because of the non-linear relationship between precipitation and PW, PW exceeding a certain critical value (PWcr) contributes disproportionately to precipitation variability. However, the frequency of PW exceeding PWcr decreases rapidly with PW, so changes in microphysical processes that shift the columnmore » PW statistics relative to PWcr even slightly have large impacts on precipitation variability. Furthermore, precipitation variance and extreme precipitation frequency are approximately linearly related to the difference between the mean and critical PW values. Thus observed precipitation statistics could be used to directly constrain model microphysical parameters as this study demonstrates using radar observations from DYNAMO field campaign.« less

How Do Microphysical Processes Influence Large-Scale Precipitation Variability and Extremes?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hagos, Samson; Ruby Leung, L.; Zhao, Chun

Convection permitting simulations using the Model for Prediction Across Scales-Atmosphere (MPAS-A) are used to examine how microphysical processes affect large-scale precipitation variability and extremes. An episode of the Madden-Julian Oscillation is simulated using MPAS-A with a refined region at 4-km grid spacing over the Indian Ocean. It is shown that cloud microphysical processes regulate the precipitable water (PW) statistics. Because of the non-linear relationship between precipitation and PW, PW exceeding a certain critical value (PWcr) contributes disproportionately to precipitation variability. However, the frequency of PW exceeding PWcr decreases rapidly with PW, so changes in microphysical processes that shift the columnmore » PW statistics relative to PWcr even slightly have large impacts on precipitation variability. Furthermore, precipitation variance and extreme precipitation frequency are approximately linearly related to the difference between the mean and critical PW values. Thus observed precipitation statistics could be used to directly constrain model microphysical parameters as this study demonstrates using radar observations from DYNAMO field campaign.« less

Relationships between expected, online and remembered enjoyment for food products.

PubMed

Robinson, Eric

2014-03-01

How enjoyable a food product is remembered to be is likely to shape future choice. The present study tested the influence that expectations and specific moments during consumption experiences have on remembered enjoyment for food products. Sixty-four participants consumed three snack foods (savoury, sweet and savoury-sweet) and rated expected and online enjoyment for each product. Twenty-four hours later participants rated remembered enjoyment and future expected enjoyment for each product. Remembered enjoyment differed to online enjoyment for two of the three products, resulting in the foods being remembered as less enjoyable than they actually were. Both expected enjoyment and specific moments during the consumption experience (e.g. the least enjoyable mouthful) influenced remembered enjoyment. However, the factors that shaped remembered enjoyment were not consistent across the different food products. Remembered enjoyment was also shown to be a better predictor of future expected enjoyment than online enjoyment. Remembered enjoyment is likely to influence choice behaviour and can be discrepant to actual enjoyment. Specific moments during a consumption experience can have disproportionately large influence on remembered enjoyment (whilst others are neglected), but the factors that determine which moments influence remembered enjoyment are unclear. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beyond Box Checking: Toward Sound Environmental Justice Analyses for Informed Decision-Making and Meaningful Tribal Consultation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emanuel, R. E.; Rivers, L., III; Blank, G. B.

2017-12-01

Environmental justice analyses are mandatory components of federal environmental reviews in the United States. They are intended to help regulators and developers identify and address disproportionate impacts on poor and/or minority populations. In many cases, however, environmental justice analyses are treated as "box checking" exercises that employ weak or flawed designs unable to detect disparate impacts on vulnerable populations. We use a recent example of an environmental review led by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to demonstrate how flawed analyses mask disproportionate impacts on poor and/or minority populations. In this case, regulators conducted a flawed environmental justice analysis for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline concluding no disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations. We reanalyze data from the project's environmental impact statement and provide a more accurate assessment of impacts on Native Americans in North Carolina. Specifically, we show that Native Americans make up a disproportionately large fraction of residents along the proposed pipeline route (13.2%) compared to their representation in the affected counties (6.2%) or in the state at large (1.2%). We discuss implications of the original, flawed analysis for tribes representing nearly 30,000 Native Americans along the project route, and we discuss efforts by affected tribes to have their unique perspectives incorporated into the decision-making process. We conclude with general recommendations for designing environmental justice analyses that serve as useful tools to guide environmental decision-making and consultation with affected groups.

Vantage Sensitivity: Environmental Sensitivity to Positive Experiences as a Function of Genetic Differences.

PubMed

Pluess, Michael

2017-02-01

A large number of gene-environment interaction studies provide evidence that some people are more likely to be negatively affected by adverse experiences as a function of specific genetic variants. However, such "risk" variants are surprisingly frequent in the population. Evolutionary analysis suggests that genetic variants associated with increased risk for maladaptive development under adverse environmental conditions are maintained in the population because they are also associated with advantages in response to different contextual conditions. These advantages may include (a) coexisting genetic resilience pertaining to other adverse influences, (b) a general genetic susceptibility to both low and high environmental quality, and (c) a coexisting propensity to benefit disproportionately from positive and supportive exposures, as reflected in the recent framework of vantage sensitivity. After introducing the basic properties of vantage sensitivity and highlighting conceptual similarities and differences with diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility patterns of gene-environment interaction, selected and recent empirical evidence for the notion of vantage sensitivity as a function of genetic differences is reviewed. The unique contribution that the new perspective of vantage sensitivity may make to our understanding of social inequality will be discussed after suggesting neurocognitive and molecular mechanisms hypothesized to underlie the propensity to benefit disproportionately from benevolent experiences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gender and Publishing in Nursing: a secondary analysis of h-index ranking tables.

PubMed

Porter, Sam

2018-05-24

To analyse published ranking tables on academics' h-index scores to establish whether male nursing academics are disproportionately represented in these tables compared with their representation across the whole profession. Previous studies have identified a disproportionate representation of UK male nursing academics in publishing in comparison to their US counterparts. Secondary statistical analysis, which involved comparative correlation of proportions. Four papers from the UK, Canada and Australia containing h-index ranking tables and published between 2010-2017, were re-analysed in June 2017 to identify authors' sex. Pearson's chi-squared test was applied to ascertain whether the number of men included in the tables was statistically proportionate to the number of men on the pertinent national professional register. There was a disproportionate number of men with high h-index scores in the UK and Canadian data sets, compared with the proportion of men on the pertinent national registers. The number of men in the Australian data set was proportionate with the number of men on the nursing register. There was a disproportionate number of male professors in UK universities. The influence of men over nursing publishing in the UK and Canada outweighs their representation across the whole profession. Similarly, in the UK, men's representation in the professoriate is disproportionately great. However, the Australian results suggest that gender inequality is not inevitable and that it is possible to create more egalitarian nursing cultures. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Reaction factoring and bipartite update graphs accelerate the Gillespie Algorithm for large-scale biochemical systems.

PubMed

Indurkhya, Sagar; Beal, Jacob

2010-01-06

ODE simulations of chemical systems perform poorly when some of the species have extremely low concentrations. Stochastic simulation methods, which can handle this case, have been impractical for large systems due to computational complexity. We observe, however, that when modeling complex biological systems: (1) a small number of reactions tend to occur a disproportionately large percentage of the time, and (2) a small number of species tend to participate in a disproportionately large percentage of reactions. We exploit these properties in LOLCAT Method, a new implementation of the Gillespie Algorithm. First, factoring reaction propensities allows many propensities dependent on a single species to be updated in a single operation. Second, representing dependencies between reactions with a bipartite graph of reactions and species requires only storage for reactions, rather than the required for a graph that includes only reactions. Together, these improvements allow our implementation of LOLCAT Method to execute orders of magnitude faster than currently existing Gillespie Algorithm variants when simulating several yeast MAPK cascade models.

Reaction Factoring and Bipartite Update Graphs Accelerate the Gillespie Algorithm for Large-Scale Biochemical Systems

PubMed Central

Indurkhya, Sagar; Beal, Jacob

2010-01-01

ODE simulations of chemical systems perform poorly when some of the species have extremely low concentrations. Stochastic simulation methods, which can handle this case, have been impractical for large systems due to computational complexity. We observe, however, that when modeling complex biological systems: (1) a small number of reactions tend to occur a disproportionately large percentage of the time, and (2) a small number of species tend to participate in a disproportionately large percentage of reactions. We exploit these properties in LOLCAT Method, a new implementation of the Gillespie Algorithm. First, factoring reaction propensities allows many propensities dependent on a single species to be updated in a single operation. Second, representing dependencies between reactions with a bipartite graph of reactions and species requires only storage for reactions, rather than the required for a graph that includes only reactions. Together, these improvements allow our implementation of LOLCAT Method to execute orders of magnitude faster than currently existing Gillespie Algorithm variants when simulating several yeast MAPK cascade models. PMID:20066048

The Influence of Attributional Style on Substance Abuse and Risky Sexual Behavior among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnett, Audrey J.; Sabato, Todd M.; Walter, Katherine Ott; Kerr, Dianne L.; Wagner, Laurie; Smith, Amy

2013-01-01

HIV, AIDS, STIs, and unwanted pregnancy continue to impact young adults in the U.S. at a disproportionate rate, particularly during the college years. Attributional style (i.e., locus of control) influences one's HIV risk. Internal locus of control indicates a lower risk of HIV infection, whereas an external locus of control signals an increased…

The Influence of Attributional Style on Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnett, Audrey J.; Sabato, Todd M.; Wagner, Laurie; Smith, Amy

2014-01-01

HIV, AIDS, STIs, and unwanted pregnancy continue to impact young adults in the U. S. at a disproportionate rate, particularly during the college years. Attributional style (i.e., locus of control) influences one's HIV risk. Internal locus of control indicates a lower risk of HIV infection, whereas external locus of control signals an…

The rise of ocean giants: maximum body size in Cenozoic marine mammals as an indicator for productivity in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

PubMed

Pyenson, Nicholas D; Vermeij, Geerat J

2016-07-01

Large consumers have ecological influence disproportionate to their abundance, although this influence in food webs depends directly on productivity. Evolutionary patterns at geologic timescales inform expectations about the relationship between consumers and productivity, but it is very difficult to track productivity through time with direct, quantitative measures. Based on previous work that used the maximum body size of Cenozoic marine invertebrate assemblages as a proxy for benthic productivity, we investigated how the maximum body size of Cenozoic marine mammals, in two feeding guilds, evolved over comparable temporal and geographical scales. First, maximal size in marine herbivores remains mostly stable and occupied by two different groups (desmostylians and sirenians) over separate timeframes in the North Pacific Ocean, while sirenians exclusively dominated this ecological mode in the North Atlantic. Second, mysticete whales, which are the largest Cenozoic consumers in the filter-feeding guild, remained in the same size range until a Mio-Pliocene onset of cetacean gigantism. Both vertebrate guilds achieved very large size only recently, suggesting that different trophic mechanisms promoting gigantism in the oceans have operated in the Cenozoic than in previous eras. © 2016 The Authors.

Stability of pharmaceutical salts in solid oral dosage forms.

PubMed

Nie, Haichen; Byrn, Stephen R; Zhou, Qi Tony

2017-08-01

Using pharmaceutical salts in solid dosage forms can raise stability concerns, especially salt dissociation which can adversely affect the product performance. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the salt instability encountered in solid-state formulations is imperative to ensure the product quality. The present article uses the fundamental theory of acid base, ionic equilibrium, relationship of pH and solubility as a starting point to illustrate and interpret the salt formation and salt disproportionation in pharmaceutical systems. The criteria of selecting the optimal salt form and the underlying theory of salt formation and disproportionation are reviewed in detail. Factors influencing salt stability in solid dosage forms are scrutinized and discussed with the case studies. In addition, both commonly used and innovative strategies for preventing salt dissociations in formulation, on storage and during manufacturing will be suggested herein. This article will provide formulation scientists and manufacturing engineers an insight into the mechanisms of salt disproportionation and salt formation, which can help them to avoid and solve the instability issues of pharmaceutical salts in the product design.

WHEN NORMS FAIL: NORTH KOREA AND CYBER AS AN ELEMENT OF STATECRAFT

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-06

use these increased cyber capabilities in attempts to wield greater influence in statecraft, cyber tools have not lived up to the hype of the great... influenced by, the cyber domain. A 2017 U.S. Defense Science Board report recognizes the significant economic, social, and military advantages the U.S. gains...reliant upon or connected to the internet, look to cyber to provide them a disproportionate level of influence in international affairs. The lack of

Environmental Factors Affecting Large-Bodied Coral Reef Fish Assemblages in the Mariana Archipelago

PubMed Central

Richards, Benjamin L.; Williams, Ivor D.; Vetter, Oliver J.; Williams, Gareth J.

2012-01-01

Large-bodied reef fishes represent an economically and ecologically important segment of the coral reef fish assemblage. Many of these individuals supply the bulk of the reproductive output for their population and have a disproportionate effect on their environment (e.g. as apex predators or bioeroding herbivores). Large-bodied reef fishes also tend to be at greatest risk of overfishing, and their loss can result in a myriad of either cascading (direct) or indirect trophic and other effects. While many studies have investigated habitat characteristics affecting populations of small-bodied reef fishes, few have explored the relationship between large-bodied species and their environment. Here, we describe the distribution of the large-bodied reef fishes in the Mariana Archipelago with an emphasis on the environmental factors associated with their distribution. Of the factors considered in this study, a negative association with human population density showed the highest relative influence on the distribution of large-bodied reef fishes; however, depth, water temperature, and distance to deep water also were important. These findings provide new information on the ecology of large-bodied reef fishes can inform discussions concerning essential fish habitat and ecosystem-based management for these species and highlight important knowledge gaps worthy of additional research. PMID:22384014

Environmental factors affecting large-bodied coral reef fish assemblages in the Mariana Archipelago.

PubMed

Richards, Benjamin L; Williams, Ivor D; Vetter, Oliver J; Williams, Gareth J

2012-01-01

Large-bodied reef fishes represent an economically and ecologically important segment of the coral reef fish assemblage. Many of these individuals supply the bulk of the reproductive output for their population and have a disproportionate effect on their environment (e.g. as apex predators or bioeroding herbivores). Large-bodied reef fishes also tend to be at greatest risk of overfishing, and their loss can result in a myriad of either cascading (direct) or indirect trophic and other effects. While many studies have investigated habitat characteristics affecting populations of small-bodied reef fishes, few have explored the relationship between large-bodied species and their environment. Here, we describe the distribution of the large-bodied reef fishes in the Mariana Archipelago with an emphasis on the environmental factors associated with their distribution. Of the factors considered in this study, a negative association with human population density showed the highest relative influence on the distribution of large-bodied reef fishes; however, depth, water temperature, and distance to deep water also were important. These findings provide new information on the ecology of large-bodied reef fishes can inform discussions concerning essential fish habitat and ecosystem-based management for these species and highlight important knowledge gaps worthy of additional research.

Plant Size and Competitive Dynamics along Nutrient Gradients.

PubMed

Goldberg, Deborah E; Martina, Jason P; Elgersma, Kenneth J; Currie, William S

2017-08-01

Resource competition theory in plants has focused largely on resource acquisition traits that are independent of size, such as traits of individual leaves or roots or proportional allocation to different functions. However, plants also differ in maximum potential size, which could outweigh differences in module-level traits. We used a community ecosystem model called mondrian to investigate whether larger size inevitably increases competitive ability and how size interacts with nitrogen supply. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that bigger is better, we found that invader success and competitive ability are unimodal functions of maximum potential size, such that plants that are too large (or too small) are disproportionately suppressed by competition. Optimal size increases with nitrogen supply, even when plants compete for nitrogen only in a size-symmetric manner, although adding size-asymmetric competition for light does substantially increase the advantage of larger size at high nitrogen. These complex interactions of plant size and nitrogen supply lead to strong nonlinearities such that small differences in nitrogen can result in large differences in plant invasion success and the influence of competition along productivity gradients.

Why size matters: the interactive influences of tree diameter distribution and sap flow parameters on upscaled transpiration.

PubMed

Berry, Z Carter; Looker, Nathaniel; Holwerda, Friso; Gómez Aguilar, León Rodrigo; Ortiz Colin, Perla; González Martínez, Teresa; Asbjornsen, Heidi

2018-02-01

In stands with a broad range of diameters, a small number of very large trees can disproportionately influence stand basal area and transpiration (Et). Sap flow-based Et estimates may be particularly sensitive to large trees due to nonlinear relationships between tree-level water use (Q) and tree diameter at breast height (DBH). Because Q is typically predicted on the basis of DBH and sap flow rates measured in a subset of trees and then summed to obtain Et, we assessed the relative importance of DBH and sap flow variables (sap velocity, Vs, and sapwood depth, Rs) in determining the magnitude of Et and its dependence on large trees in a tropical montane forest ecosystem. Specifically, we developed a data-driven simulation framework to vary the relationship between DBH and Vs and stand DBH distribution and then calculate Q, Et and the proportion of Et contributed by the largest tree in each stand. Our results demonstrate that variation in how Rs is determined in the largest trees can alter estimates up to 26% of Et while variation in how Vs is determined can vary results by up to 132%. Taken together, these results highlight a great need to expand our understanding of water transport in large trees as this hinders our ability to predict water fluxes accurately from stand to catchment scales. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Disproportionate effects of non-colonial small herbivores on structure and diversity of grassland dominated by large herbivores

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The response of semiarid grasslands to small, non-colonial herbivores has received little attention, focusing primarily on the effects of granivore assemblages on annual plant communities. We studied the long-term effects of small and large herbivores on vegetation structure and species diversity of...

Association between placental morphology and childhood systolic blood pressure.

PubMed

Wen, Xiaozhong; Triche, Elizabeth W; Hogan, Joseph W; Shenassa, Edmond D; Buka, Stephen L

2011-01-01

We tested hypotheses that disproportionately large placental size and vascular lesions were associated with high systolic blood pressure (SBP); and these associations might be more evident with age. The sample included 13 273 of 40 666 full-term singletons in the Collaborative Perinatal Project. Placentas were examined by pathologists blinded of pregnancy courses and outcomes. The 4-month and 7-year SBPs were measured with palpation and auscultation methods, respectively. We found that placental weight (adjusted mean difference corresponding to an increase by 1 SD 0.50 [95% CI, 0.33 to 0.68]) and placenta-fetus weight ratio (0.37 [95% CI, 0.19 to 0.54]) was positively associated with 7-year SBP but not associated with 4-month SBP. Placental largest and smallest diameters and area were negatively associated with 4-month SBP but positively with 7-year SBP. Placental thickness was negatively associated with 4-month SBP only. Placental volume was negatively associated with 4-month SBP (-0.60 [95% CI, - 0.85 to -0.35]) but positively associated with 7-year SBP (0.48 [95% CI, 0.30 to 0.67]). Thrombi in cord vessels (adjusted mean difference versus absence 2.73 [95% CI, - 0.03 to 5.50]) and decidual vessels (2.58 [95% CI, 0.24 to 4.91]), villous microinfarcts (1.63 [95% CI, 0.71 to 2.55]), necrosis at the decidual margin (1.57 [95% CI, 0.54 to 2.59]), and basalis (3.44 [95% CI, 1.55 to 5.32]) were associated with higher 4-month SBP only. We conclude that placental inefficiency, reflected by disproportionately large weight and size, predicts long-term blood pressure, whereas vascular resistance and lesions may only influence short-term blood pressure.

Evidentiality and Suggestibility: A New Research Venue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Cagla; Ceci, Stephen J.

2009-01-01

Recent research suggests that acquisition of mental-state language may influence conceptual development. We examine this possibility by investigating the conceptual links between evidentiality in language and suggestibility. Young children are disproportionately suggestible and tend to change their reports or memories when questioned. The authors…

Teacher Efficacy and Disproportional Special Education Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branscombe, Peter

2017-01-01

According to literature, African American male students are disproportionately placed in special education programs throughout our national public school systems. Therefore, this study was intended to examine factors that may influence a teacher's decision to recommend students for special education services. The target population for this study…

Concepts for Future Large Fire Modeling

Treesearch

A. P. Dimitrakopoulos; R. E. Martin

1987-01-01

A small number of fires escape initial attack suppression efforts and become large, but their effects are significant and disproportionate. In 1983, of 200,000 wildland fires in the United States, only 4,000 exceeded 100 acres. However, these escaped fires accounted for roughly 95 percent of wildfire-related costs and damages (Pyne, 1984). Thus, future research efforts...

Reforming the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Program

PubMed Central

Coughlin, Teresa A.; Ku, Leighton; Kim, Johnny

2000-01-01

Since 1991, three Federal laws have sought to reform the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program, which is designed to help safety net hospitals. This article provides findings from a 40-State survey about Medicaid DSH and supplemental payment programs in 1997. Results indicate that the overall size of the DSH program did not grow from 1993 to 1997, but the composition of DSH revenues and expenditures changed substantially: A much higher share of the DSH funds were being paid to local hospitals and relatively less was being retained by the States. The study also revealed that large differences in States' use of DSH still persist. PMID:12500325

Teens, Tweets, and Tanning Beds: Rethinking the Use of Social Media for Skin Cancer Prevention

PubMed Central

Falzone, Ashley E.; Brindis, Claire D.; Chren, Mary-Margaret; Junn, Alexandra; Pagoto, Sherry; Wehner, Mackenzie; Linos, Eleni

2018-01-01

The incidence of skin cancer is rising in the U.S., and melanoma, the deadliest form, is increasing disproportionately among young white women. Indoor tanning is a modifiable risk factor for all skin cancers and continues to be used at the highest rates in young white women. Adolescents and young adults report personal appearance–based reasons for using indoor tanning. Previous research has explored the influences on tanning bed use, including individual factors as well as relationships with peers, family, schools, media influences, legislation, and societal beauty norms. Adolescents and young adults also have high rates of social media usage, and research is emerging on how best to utilize these platforms for prevention. Social media has the potential to be a cost-effective way to reach large numbers of young people and target messages at characteristics of specific audiences. Recent prevention efforts have shown that comprehensive prevention campaigns that include technology and social media are promising in reducing rates of indoor tanning among young adults. This review examines the literature on psychosocial influences on indoor tanning among adolescents and young adults, and highlights ways in which technology and social media can be used for prevention efforts. PMID:28818251

It Takes Two to Tango: Arctic Influence on Mid-Latitude Weather is State-Dependent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francis, J. A.; Vavrus, S. J.; Cohen, J. L.

2016-12-01

Since the late 1990s the Arctic has been warming two to three times faster than mid-latitude regions, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification (AA). During the first half of 2016, AA reached a new record high value. This disproportionate warming is expected to influence the large-scale atmospheric circulation of the northern hemisphere, but understanding exactly how, where, when, and under what conditions has been an active and controversial topic of research. Observational studies of the atmospheric response are challenged by the short record of AA in a noisy environment, while modeling efforts have produced mixed results owing in part to deficiencies in both capturing the full signal of AA and simulating highly amplified atmospheric features (such as blocks, cut-off lows, and sharp ridging). Despite these challenges, progress in understanding the effects of AA on mid-latitude weather has been steady. In this presentation, we will discuss a new hypothesis and supporting evidence suggesting that the influence of regional AA depends on the background state of the large-scale circulation. Long-lived sea-surface temperature patterns in mid-latitudes, such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, favor particular ridge/trough configurations that affect the magnitude of AA's influence on weather patterns. These relationships vary both regionally and seasonally. As AA continues to strengthen with unabated rising concentrations of greenhouse gases, the mechanisms by which AA affects mid-latitude weather, particularly extreme events, may become clearer. The record-breaking AA of 2016 and associated extreme mid-latitude weather events may be a preview of the "new normal" in a warmer world.

Exploring the influence of ancient and historic megaherbivore extirpations on the global methane budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Felisa A.; Hammond, John I.; Balk, Meghan A.; Elliott, Scott M.; Lyons, S. Kathleen; Pardi, Melissa I.; Tomé, Catalina P.; Wagner, Peter J.; Westover, Marie L.

2016-01-01

Globally, large-bodied wild mammals are in peril. Because "megamammals" have a disproportionate influence on vegetation, trophic interactions, and ecosystem function, declining populations are of considerable conservation concern. However, this is not new; trophic downgrading occurred in the past, including the African rinderpest epizootic of the 1890s, the massive Great Plains bison kill-off in the 1860s, and the terminal Pleistocene extinction of megafauna. Examining the consequences of these earlier events yields insights into contemporary ecosystem function. Here, we focus on changes in methane emissions, produced as a byproduct of enteric fermentation by herbivores. Although methane is ∼200 times less abundant than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the greater efficiency of methane in trapping radiation leads to a significant role in radiative forcing of climate. Using global datasets of late Quaternary mammals, domestic livestock, and human population from the United Nations as well as literature sources, we develop a series of allometric regressions relating mammal body mass to population density and CH4 production, which allows estimation of methane production by wild and domestic herbivores for each historic or ancient time period. We find the extirpation of megaherbivores reduced global enteric emissions between 2.2-69.6 Tg CH4 y-1 during the various time periods, representing a decrease of 0.8-34.8% of the overall inputs to tropospheric input. Our analyses suggest that large-bodied mammals have a greater influence on methane emissions than previously appreciated and, further, that changes in the source pool from herbivores can influence global biogeochemical cycles and, potentially, climate.

Exploring the influence of ancient and historic megaherbivore extirpations on the global methane budget

PubMed Central

Smith, Felisa A.; Hammond, John I.; Balk, Meghan A.; Elliott, Scott M.; Lyons, S. Kathleen; Pardi, Melissa I.; Tomé, Catalina P.; Wagner, Peter J.; Westover, Marie L.

2016-01-01

Globally, large-bodied wild mammals are in peril. Because “megamammals” have a disproportionate influence on vegetation, trophic interactions, and ecosystem function, declining populations are of considerable conservation concern. However, this is not new; trophic downgrading occurred in the past, including the African rinderpest epizootic of the 1890s, the massive Great Plains bison kill-off in the 1860s, and the terminal Pleistocene extinction of megafauna. Examining the consequences of these earlier events yields insights into contemporary ecosystem function. Here, we focus on changes in methane emissions, produced as a byproduct of enteric fermentation by herbivores. Although methane is ∼200 times less abundant than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the greater efficiency of methane in trapping radiation leads to a significant role in radiative forcing of climate. Using global datasets of late Quaternary mammals, domestic livestock, and human population from the United Nations as well as literature sources, we develop a series of allometric regressions relating mammal body mass to population density and CH4 production, which allows estimation of methane production by wild and domestic herbivores for each historic or ancient time period. We find the extirpation of megaherbivores reduced global enteric emissions between 2.2–69.6 Tg CH4 y−1 during the various time periods, representing a decrease of 0.8–34.8% of the overall inputs to tropospheric input. Our analyses suggest that large-bodied mammals have a greater influence on methane emissions than previously appreciated and, further, that changes in the source pool from herbivores can influence global biogeochemical cycles and, potentially, climate. PMID:26504225

Brief report: a preliminary study of fetal head circumference growth in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Whitehouse, Andrew J O; Hickey, Martha; Stanley, Fiona J; Newnham, John P; Pennell, Craig E

2011-01-01

Fetal head circumference (HC) growth was examined prospectively in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD participants (N = 14) were each matched with four control participants (N = 56) on a range of parameters known to influence fetal growth. HC was measured using ultrasonography at approximately 18 weeks gestation and again at birth using a paper tape-measure. Overall body size was indexed by fetal femur-length and birth length. There was no between-groups difference in head circumference at either time-point. While a small number of children with ASD had disproportionately large head circumference relative to body size at both time-points, the between-groups difference did not reach statistical significance in this small sample. These preliminary findings suggest that further investigation of fetal growth in ASD is warranted.

Badass gullies: Fluvio-mass-movement gully complexes in New Zealand's East Coast region, and potential for remediation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marden, Michael; Fuller, Ian C.; Herzig, Alexander; Betts, Harley D.

2018-04-01

This paper reviews gully erosion in the East Coast region of New Zealand's North Island and conceptualises fluvio-mass-movement gully complexes as badass gully systems. Tectonic setting and lithological control, with steep slopes and a climate influenced by tropical cyclones, predispose hill country in the East Coast region to gully erosion. The clearance of indigenous forest since the late 1800s has dramatically increased catchment erosion and paved the way for development of large-scale fluvio-mass-movement gully complexes. These features are a composite of fluvial and mass movement processes. They are conceptualised as 'badass' by not conforming to any existing gully model and by generating disproportionate results in East Coast catchment sediment cascades. Their remediation is discussed, but their nature means that prevention is better than a cure.

Ordinal Position and Death Concerns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckstein, Daniel; Tobacyk, Jerome

The relationship between birth order and how a person deals with death is investigated. Both theoretical and empirical evidence indicates that birth order influences how a person deals with life tasks. First-borns appear more achievement-oriented than their younger siblings, as exemplified by the fact that disproportionately greater numbers of…

Conventialization of Numerals in Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kajoro, Peter

2012-01-01

The supposed pre-eminence of an external examination can exert a disproportionate influence on a curriculum and the associated learning and teaching. Teaching can easily subordinate learning and understanding to curriculum coverage if the society develops a culture that appears to make such demands. This study focuses on Tanzania and provides the…

Ecological Unequal Exchange: International Trade and Uneven Utilization of Environmental Space in the World System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, James

2007-01-01

We evaluate the argument that international trade influences disproportionate cross-national utilization of global renewable natural resources. Such uneven dynamics are relevant to the consideration of inequitable appropriation of environmental space in particular and processes of ecological unequal exchange more generally. Using OLS regression…

Characteristics of a Productive Research Environment: Literature Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bland, Carole J.; Ruffin, Mack T., IV

1992-01-01

A review of the literature on university faculty research productivity found a consistent set of 12 characteristics common in research-conducive environments. Findings included (1) the leader has a disproportionate impact through his influence on all the other characteristics, and (2) participative governance is important in promotion of research…

The Impact and Racial Identity on Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulzac, Anica Camela

2012-01-01

Research has shown that academic achievement among racial minority groups, particularly African Americans, and the majority Caucasian group is profoundly disproportionate. A number of variables have been shown to influence the academic achievement of students, such as stereotype threat, racial identity, and academic self-concept (Awad, 2007;…

River of Ideology, Islands of Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavale, Kenneth A.; Mostert, Mark P.

2003-01-01

A significant portion of the full inclusion movement appears permeated by radicalism, rejecting the empirical in favor of the nonepistemic and postmodern. Further, current full inclusion spin seems to have had wide influence on the field disproportionate to its claims of efficacy. We briefly discuss the ideological underpinnings, consequences, and…

River of Ideology, Islands of Evidence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavale, Kenneth A.; Mostert, Mark P.

2003-01-01

This article suggests that much of the full inclusion movement is permeated by radicalism rejecting the empirical. It finds that the full inclusion movement has influenced special education to a degree disproportionate to its claims of efficacy. The article discusses the ideological underpinnings, consequences, and rhetoric of the movement and…

Differential Susceptibility to Parenting and Quality Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pluess, Michael; Belsky, Jay

2010-01-01

Research on differential susceptibility to rearing suggests that infants with difficult temperaments are disproportionately affected by parenting and child care quality, but a major U.S. child care study raises questions as to whether quality of care influences social adjustment. One thousand three hundred sixty-four American children from…

Role of Visual Speech in Phonological Processing by Children With Hearing Loss

PubMed Central

Jerger, Susan; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Abdi, Hervé

2011-01-01

Purpose This research assessed the influence of visual speech on phonological processing by children with hearing loss (HL). Method Children with HL and children with normal hearing (NH) named pictures while attempting to ignore auditory or audiovisual speech distractors whose onsets relative to the pictures were either congruent, conflicting in place of articulation, or conflicting in voicing—for example, the picture “pizza” coupled with the distractors “peach,” “teacher,” or “beast,” respectively. Speed of picture naming was measured. Results The conflicting conditions slowed naming, and phonological processing by children with HL displayed the age-related shift in sensitivity to visual speech seen in children with NH, although with developmental delay. Younger children with HL exhibited a disproportionately large influence of visual speech and a negligible influence of auditory speech, whereas older children with HL showed a robust influence of auditory speech with no benefit to performance from adding visual speech. The congruent conditions did not speed naming in children with HL, nor did the addition of visual speech influence performance. Unexpectedly, the /∧/-vowel congruent distractors slowed naming in children with HL and decreased articulatory proficiency. Conclusions Results for the conflicting conditions are consistent with the hypothesis that speech representations in children with HL (a) are initially disproportionally structured in terms of visual speech and (b) become better specified with age in terms of auditorily encoded information. PMID:19339701

Sulfite-oxido-reductase is involved in the oxidation of sulfite in Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens during disproportionation of thiosulfate and elemental sulfur.

PubMed

Frederiksen, Trine-Maria; Finster, Kai

2003-06-01

The enzymatic pathways of elemental sulfur and thiosulfate disproportionation were investigated using cell-free extract of Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens. Sulfite was observed to be an intermediate in the metabolism of both compounds. Two distinct pathways for the oxidation of sulfite have been identified. One pathway involves APS reductase and ATP sulfurylase and can be described as the reversion of the initial steps of the dissimilatory sulfate reduction pathway. The second pathway is the direct oxidation of sulfite to sulfate by sulfite oxidoreductase. This enzyme has not been reported from sulfate reducers before. Thiosulfate reductase, which cleaves thiosulfate into sulfite and sulfide, was only present in cell-free extract from thiosulfate disproportionating cultures. We propose that this enzyme catalyzes the first step in thiosulfate disproportionation. The initial step in sulfur disproportionation was not identified. Dissimilatory sulfite reductase was present in sulfur and thiosulfate disproportionating cultures. The metabolic function of this enzyme in relation to elemental sulfur or thiosulfate disproportionation was not identified. The presence of the uncouplers HQNO and CCCP in growing cultures had negative effects on both thiosulfate and sulfur disproportionation. CCCP totally inhibited sulfur disproportionation and reduced thiosulfate disproportionation by 80% compared to an unamended control. HQNO reduced thiosulfate disproportionation by 80% and sulfur disproportionation by 90%.

Topographic Distributions of Emergent Trees in Tropical Forests of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balzotti, C.; Asner, G. P.; Taylor, P.; Cole, R. J.; Osborne, B. B.; Cleveland, C. C.; Porder, S.; Townsend, A. R.

2015-12-01

Tropical rainforests are reservoirs of terrestrial carbon and biodiversity. Large and often emergent trees store disproportionately large amounts of aboveground carbon and greatly influence the structure and functioning of tropical rainforests. Despite their importance, controls on the abundance and distribution of emergent trees are largely unknown across tropical landscapes. Conventional field approaches are limited in their ability to characterize patterns in emergent trees across vast landscapes with varying environmental conditions and floristic composition. Here we used a high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor, aboard the Carnegie Airborne Observatory Airborne Taxonomic Mapping System (CAO-AToMS), to examine the abundance and distribution of tall emergent tree canopies (ETC) relative to surrounding tree canopies (STC), across the Osa Peninsula, a geologically and topographically diverse region of Costa Rica. The abundance of ETC was clearly influenced by fine-scale topographic variation, with distribution patterns that held across a variety of geologic substrates. Specifically, the density of ETC was much greater on lower slopes and in valleys, compared to upper slopes and ridges. Furthermore, using the CAO high-fidelity imaging spectrometer, ETC had a different spectral signature than that of the STC. Most notably, ETC had lower foliar N than STC, which was verified with an independent field survey of canopy leaf chemistry. The underlying mechanisms to explain the topographic-dependence of ETCs and linkages to canopy N are unknown, and remain an important area of research.

Neighborhood-Level Factors Related to Asthma in Children Living in Urban Areas: An Integrative Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DePriest, Kelli; Butz, Arlene

2017-01-01

Asthma disproportionately affects children who are non-White and of low socioeconomic status. One innovative approach to address these health disparities is to investigate the child's neighborhood environment and factors influencing asthma symptoms. The purpose of this integrative review is to critique research investigating the relationships…

Helping African American Children Self-Manage Asthma: The Importance of Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaul, Teri

2011-01-01

Background: Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness among children in the United States, with a disproportionately higher incidence among minority children. In an attempt to increase understanding of the factors that may influence self-management of chronic disease, the study examined the relationship between self-efficacy belief and asthma…

Can Positive Faith-Based Encounters Influence Australian Young People's Drinking Behaviours?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutton, Alison; Whitehead, Dean; Ullah, Shahid

2017-01-01

Purpose: Alcohol-related accidents and injuries occur disproportionately within young people--especially when gathering at social events. This study represents a partnership between a faith-based group of volunteers specifically trained to counsel and support young people to reduce their risk of alcohol-related harm, Adelaide City Council, and the…

Psychosocial Determinants of Promotores and Selected Outcomes for a Cancer Education Intervention Implemented in South Texas Colonias

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. John, Julie Parrish

2013-01-01

Hispanics have a disproportionate burden of poorer cancer outcomes. "Promotores" (community health workers) have been shown to be effective in delivering interventions to this population. However, little is known about what aspects of the "promotores" influence the delivery of a cancer education intervention as well what…

Young African American Male-Male Relationships: Experiences, Expectations, and Condom Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taggart, Tamara; Ellen, Jonathan; Arrington-Sanders, Renata

2017-01-01

HIV disproportionately impacts young African American men who have sex with men (MSM). In this study, we sought to understand how previous relationship experiences and expectations for romantic relationships influence condom use among young African American MSM. Twenty African American MSM aged 16 to 24 years completed a semi-structured interview…

Female Attractiveness and Eating Disorders: Do Children's Television Commercials Play a Role?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogletree, Shirley M.; And Others

1990-01-01

This study analyzed commercials from Saturday morning cartoon programing. A majority (60.6 percent) were for food products, and of these 13.8 percent dealt with enhancement of appearance. This group of commercials featured female narrators, characters, and consumers disproportionately. The research offers support for the possible influence of…

A Multiattributes Approach for Ranking PhD Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urbancic, Frank R.

2008-01-01

In its plan to combat the PhD shortage crisis, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB; 2003) has called for the development of PhD program rankings to serve as incentives for academic institutions to invest more in PhD programs, thereby counterbalancing the disproportionate influence of master of business…

Cultural Factors Moderating Links between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Parenting and Coparenting among Mexican Origin Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Melissa A.; Mortensen, Jennifer A.; Gonzalez, Henry; Gonzalez, Jose-Michael

2016-01-01

Background: Mexican origin families with young children living in the United States are disproportionately likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods that may threaten engagement in positive parenting processes. However, the influences of contextual risks on family processes among Mexican origin families remain unclear. Objective: The goal of…

Latino/a Student Misbehavior and School Punishment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peguero, Anthony A.; Shekarkhar, Zahra

2011-01-01

Although Latino/as are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. student population, Latino/a youth face a number of educational hurdles, such as disproportionate school punishment. This topic is particularly relevant today in the midst of the current social, political, and economic debate over the influence of Latino/a immigration in the US school…

GREEN RETROFITTING RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

EPA Science Inventory

When compared with the rest of the world, the United States consumes a disproportionately large amount of energy and is a major source of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion. As much as two thirds of U.S. electricity production is consumed by residential and commerci...

POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF INCREASED SOLAR UV-B ON GLOBAL PLANT PRODUCTIVITY

EPA Science Inventory

Ultraviolet-B radiation comprises only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum but has a disproportionately large photobiological effect. oth plants and animals are greatly affected by increases in UV-B radiation but there exists tremendous variability in the sensitivity ...

Shiga toxins: A review of structure, mechanism, and detection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are responsible for a minority of foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States, they account for a disproportionately large number of hospitalizations, serious sequelae, and deaths associated with foodborne illness. Diseases caused b...

Neuromotor control in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Mantilla, Carlos B; Sieck, Gary C

2013-05-01

Neuromotor control of skeletal muscles, including respiratory muscles, is ultimately dependent on the structure and function of the motor units (motoneurons and the muscle fibers they innervate) comprising the muscle. In most muscles, considerable diversity of contractile and fatigue properties exists across motor units, allowing a range of motor behaviors. In diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there may be disproportional primary (disease related) or secondary effects (related to treatment or other concomitant factors) on the size and contractility of specific muscle fiber types that would influence the relative contribution of different motor units. For example, with COPD there is a disproportionate atrophy of type IIx and/or IIb fibers that comprise more fatigable motor units. Thus fatigue resistance may appear to improve, while overall motor performance (e.g., 6-min walk test) and endurance (e.g., reduced aerobic exercise capacity) are diminished. There are many coexisting factors that might also influence motor performance. For example, in COPD patients, there may be concomitant hypoxia and/or hypercapnia, physical inactivity and unloading of muscles, and corticosteroid treatment, all of which may disproportionately affect specific muscle fiber types, thereby influencing neuromotor control. Future studies should address how plasticity in motor units can be harnessed to mitigate the functional impact of COPD-induced changes.

Why We Must Continue to Investigate Menthol's Role in the African American Smoking Paradox.

PubMed

Alexander, Linda A; Trinidad, Dennis R; Sakuma, Kari-Lyn K; Pokhrel, Pallav; Herzog, Thaddeus A; Clanton, Mark S; Moolchan, Eric T; Fagan, Pebbles

2016-04-01

The disproportionate burden of tobacco use among African Americans is largely unexplained. The unexplained disparities, referred to as the African American smoking paradox, includes several phenomena. Despite their social disadvantage, African American youth have lower smoking prevalence rates, initiate smoking at older ages, and during adulthood, smoking rates are comparable to whites. Smoking frequency and intensity among African American youth and adults are lower compared to whites and American Indian and Alaska Natives, but tobacco-caused morbidity and mortality rates are disproportionately higher. Disease prediction models have not explained disease causal pathways in African Americans. It has been hypothesized that menthol cigarette smoking, which is disproportionately high among African Americans, may help to explain several components of the African American smoking paradox. This article provides an overview of the potential role that menthol plays in the African American smoking paradox. We also discuss the research needed to better understand this unresolved puzzle. We examined prior synthesis reports and reviewed the literature in PubMed on the menthol compound and menthol cigarette smoking in African Americans. The pharmacological and physiological effects of menthol and their interaction with biological and genetic factors may indirectly contribute to the disproportionate burden of cigarette use and diseases among African Americans. Future studies that examine taste sensitivity, the menthol compound, and their effects on smoking and chronic disease would provide valuable information on how to reduce the tobacco burden among African Americans. Our study highlights four counterintuitive observations related to the smoking risk profiles and chronic disease outcomes among African Americans. The extant literature provides strong evidence of their existence and shows that long-standing paradoxes have been largely unaffected by changes in the social environment. African Americans smoke menthols disproportionately, and menthol's role in the African American smoking paradox has not been thoroughly explored. We propose discrete hypotheses that will help to explain the phenomena and encourage researchers to empirically test menthol's role in smoking initiation, transitions to regular smoking and chronic disease outcomes in African Americans. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

"Too much moving...there's always a reason": Understanding urban Aboriginal peoples' experiences of mobility and its impact on holistic health.

PubMed

Snyder, Marcie; Wilson, Kathi

2015-07-01

Urban Indigenous peoples face a disproportionate burden of ill health compared to non-Indigenous populations, and experience more frequent geographic mobility. However, most of what is known about Indigenous health is limited to rural, northern, or in the case of Canada, reserve-based populations. Little is known about the complexities of urban Indigenous health, and the differential impacts of residential mobility and urban migration remain poorly understood. Drawing upon interviews with Aboriginal movers and service providers in Winnipeg, Canada, we apply a critical population health lens, informed by holistic health, to examine these impacts. The results demonstrate mobility is an intergenerational phenomenon, influenced by colonial practices. While migration can contribute to positive health experiences, residential mobility, which is largely involuntary, and linked to stressors such as neighborhood safety, results in negative health effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Publication Bias in Special Education Meta-Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gage, Nicholas A.; Cook, Bryan G.; Reichow, Brian

2017-01-01

Publication bias involves the disproportionate representation of studies with large and significant effects in the published research. Among other problems, publication bias results in inflated omnibus effect sizes in meta-analyses, giving the impression that interventions have stronger effects than they actually do. Although evidence suggests…

Pattern of Duplicate Presentations at National Hematology-Oncology Meetings: Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

PubMed

Ramchandren, Radhakrishnan; Schiffer, Charles A

2016-03-01

The major large US hematology-oncology meetings sponsored by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) have specific guidelines in place discouraging submission of scientific information presented previously at other meetings. Nonetheless, duplicate submissions are frequent. The incidence and motivations for duplicate hematologic presentations and the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on this process have not been thoroughly analyzed. Therefore, were viewed four consecutive ASH and ASCO meetings to assess the frequency of duplicate abstract presentations. All abstracts presented at ASCO2010 in the area of malignant hematology were compared with abstracts from ASCO and ASH 2009 and ASH 2010, and funding sources were reviewed. More than half (54%) of all abstracts submitted to ASCO 2010 acknowledged pharmaceutical company support. Almost one third (31%) of ASCO 2010 abstracts were resubmitted in the 2-year time period, and it was notable that a high fraction (75%) of these duplicate abstracts had pharmaceutical industry sponsorship, compared with 42% of the abstracts that were submitted only once. Despite current guidelines prohibiting duplicate abstract presentation, a substantial proportion (31%) of abstracts at large international hematology-oncology meetings are duplicative, with potential negative consequences. In addition, a disproportionate percentage of the duplicate abstracts rely on pharmaceutical industry support (75%), suggesting that marketing strategies may be a motivation for some of these repetitive submissions.

Social Influences Contributing to African Americans Discontinuing K-12 Education and Enrolling into General Education Development Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Danielle A.

2017-01-01

For many decades, the social imbalances had a significant impact on the academic success of African Americans. High school completion rates for African American students were disproportionately lower when compared to their Caucasian counterparts. This purpose of this qualitative study was to display factors that contributed to African American…

Differential Susceptibility to Effects of the Home Environment on Motor Developmental Outcomes of Preschool Children: Low Birthweight Status as a Susceptibility Factor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Jennifer Chun-Li; Chiang, Tung-liang

2016-01-01

Low birthweight (LBW) children tend to have higher risks of developmental problems. According to differential susceptibility hypothesis, these putatively vulnerable children may also disproportionately benefit from positive environmental exposure. This study aimed to examine whether LBW status moderates home environmental influences on…

Experiences of Black MSM at an HBCU Regarding Stigma and HIV Risk Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeter, Natasha Harden

2016-01-01

Black men who have sex with men (MSM) on Historically Black College/University (HBCU) campuses face a unique set of challenges. In addition to being disproportionately affected by HIV, Black MSM are impacted by risk behavior, stigma, and environmental policies and practices that adversely influence their experiences. The purpose of this study was…

Praying Hands: Influences of Religiosity and Spirituality on Sexual Risk-Taking among Black, College-Attending Emerging Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Triplett, Tralonda C.

2012-01-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed persistent disproportionate burdens of HIV/AIDS among Black populations in the United States. While treatment advancements have greatly improved qualities of life for persons living with HIV/AIDS, prevention efforts remain focused to reduce incidence among vulnerable populations.…

Factors that influence influenza vaccination rates among the elderly: nurses' perspectives.

PubMed

Ellen, Moriah

2018-03-01

To explore which factors nurses perceive to help and hinder influenza vaccination rates among the elderly. Influenza-related illnesses and deaths have disproportionately high prevalence among the elderly. Vaccination is an effective tool to prevent complications. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nurses focusing on barriers, facilitators and health care providers' roles in influencing patients to be vaccinated. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Nurses identified that the prevalent barriers were fear of the vaccine's side effects, feelings of good health and technical considerations. Facilitators included ease of access and encouragement from health providers, media and social networks. The health care team was influential in raising vaccination rates through direct recommendation, providing concrete information or leading by example. The health care team can influence patients to vaccinate. Investments in training nurses in the knowledge and skills needed to educate patients, and providing nurses with the necessary resources to engage patients in these discussions may be beneficial. Nurse managers can be instrumental in enhancing nurses' roles and actions to increase influenza vaccination rates among the elderly. It is essential to reinforce the nurses' role in promoting vaccination among seniors. Given that nurses are the largest number of health professionals, their potential outreach to large numbers of people is strong. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Teens, Tweets, and Tanning Beds: Rethinking the Use of Social Media for Skin Cancer Prevention.

PubMed

Falzone, Ashley E; Brindis, Claire D; Chren, Mary-Margaret; Junn, Alexandra; Pagoto, Sherry; Wehner, Mackenzie; Linos, Eleni

2017-09-01

The incidence of skin cancer is rising in the U.S., and melanoma, the deadliest form, is increasing disproportionately among young white women. Indoor tanning is a modifiable risk factor for all skin cancers and continues to be used at the highest rates in young white women. Adolescents and young adults report personal appearance-based reasons for using indoor tanning. Previous research has explored the influences on tanning bed use, including individual factors as well as relationships with peers, family, schools, media influences, legislation, and societal beauty norms. Adolescents and young adults also have high rates of social media usage, and research is emerging on how best to utilize these platforms for prevention. Social media has the potential to be a cost-effective way to reach large numbers of young people and target messages at characteristics of specific audiences. Recent prevention efforts have shown that comprehensive prevention campaigns that include technology and social media are promising in reducing rates of indoor tanning among young adults. This review examines the literature on psychosocial influences on indoor tanning among adolescents and young adults, and highlights ways in which technology and social media can be used for prevention efforts. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Agricultural Leaders' Influence on the Safety Culture of Workers.

PubMed

Gasperini, Frank A

2017-01-01

Most US farmers are small, independent owner-operators, many of whom are exempt from safety regulation and enforcement, as well as age restrictions relative to family members performing hazardous tasks. These smaller farms account for a disproportionate share of the total fatality and injury statistics from farming incidents, contributing to an agriculture-industry death rate that is seven times greater than all occupations combined. In contrast, large agricultural enterprises that employ larger numbers of non-family workers are more regulated and more highly incentivized by economic, supply chain, and societal factors to implement cultures of safety, and are more readily influenced by agricultural opinion leaders, agribusinesses, farm organizations, and agricultural media. These agricultural influencer institutions must find ways to play more significant roles in changing the culture on operations that use only family labor. They will find willing partners in safety organizations such as the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), Agricultural Extension, and other health and safety advocates, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded agricultural research centers. The overall workplace injury statistics for agriculture remain alarming; however, with leadership from the larger farm operations, and help from ASHCA, academia, the healthcare community, and others, the current culture of workplace safety and health in agriculture can be impacted in positive ways.

Artificial warming of arctic meadow under pollution stress: Experimental design

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Boreal and arctic terrestrial ecosystems are central to the climate change debate, notably because future warming is expected to be disproportionate as compared to world averages. Likewise, greenhouse gas (GHG) release from terrestrial ecosystems exposed to climate warming is expected to be the larg...

The Pilot EPA-NIMHD Centers of Excellence on Environment and Health Disparities: A Summary of Accomplishments

EPA Science Inventory

Minorities and economically-disadvantaged communities continue to bear a disproportionately large burden of the exposures to environmental stressors that are associated with adverse health outcomes. Federal efforts to alleviate such health disparities began in the early 1990s. Th...

The Alzheimerization of Aging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adelman, Richard C.

1995-01-01

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) invests a disproportionately large share of its resources in research on Alzheimer's Disease at the expense of other interests of the broader scientific community in gerontology. Complex social forces that continue to shape this outcome embrace discipline-specific traditions of science advocacy, as well as…

Chaos in Practice: Techniques for Career Counsellors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pryor, Robert G. L.; Bright, Jim

2005-01-01

The chaos theory of careers emphasises continual change, the centrality and importance of chance events, the potential of minor events to have disproportionately large impacts on subsequent events, and the capacity for dramatic phase shifts in career behaviour. This approach challenges traditional approaches to career counselling, assumptions…

Women in hospital medicine in the United Kingdom: glass ceiling, preference, prejudice or cohort effect?

PubMed

McManus, I C; Sproston, K A

2000-01-01

To assess from official statistics whether there is evidence that the careers of women doctors in hospitals do not progress in the same way as those of men. The proportions of female hospital doctors overall (1963-96), and in the specialties of medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, pathology, radiology/radiotherapy, anaesthetics and psychiatry (1974-1996) were examined. Additionally data were examined on career preferences and intentions from pre-registration house officers, final year medical students, and medical school applicants (1966-1991). Data were analysed according to cohort of entry to medical school to assess the extent of disproportionate promotion. The proportion of women in hospital career posts was largely explained by the rapidly increasing proportion of women entering medical school during the past three decades. In general there was little evidence for disproportionate promotion of women in hospital careers, although in surgery, hospital medicine and obstetrics and gynaecology, fewer women seemed to progress beyond the SHO grade, and in anaesthetics there were deficits of women at each career stage. Analyses of career preferences and intentions suggest that disproportionate promotion cannot readily be explained as differential choice by women. Although there is no evidence as such of a "glass ceiling" for women doctors in hospital careers, and the current paucity of women consultants primarily reflects historical trends in the numbers of women entering medical school, there is evidence in some cases of disproportionate promotion that is best interpreted as direct or indirect discrimination.

Advancing a multilevel framework for epidemiologic research on asthma disparities.

PubMed

Wright, Rosalind J; Subramanian, S V

2007-11-01

Our understanding of asthma epidemiology is growing increasingly complex. Asthma outcomes are clearly socially patterned, with asthma ranking as a leading cause of health disparities among minority and low socioeconomic groups. Yet, the increasing prevalence and marked disparities in asthma remain largely unexplained by known risk factors. In the United States, asthma disproportionately affects nonwhite children living in urban areas and children living in poverty. Low socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic minority group status, and residence in an inner-city environment are closely intertwined in the United States, making it a challenge to fully disentangle the independent effects of each of these characteristics on asthma morbidity. In addition, studies show geographic variation in asthma outcomes across large cities and neighborhoods within cities that cannot be explained by economic factors alone. Although more limited data are available, studies in rural areas also suggest the stratification of risk based on SES and the proportion of minorities. Among low-SES areas, those with predominantly minority, segregated populations seem especially burdened. Marginalized populations of lower socioeconomic position are disproportionately exposed to irritants (eg, tobacco smoke), pollutants (eg, diesel-related particles), and indoor allergens (eg, cockroach and mouse allergen). Moreover, these marginalized individuals may also live in communities that are increasingly socially toxic, which, in turn, may be related to the increased experience of psychosocial stress that may influence asthma morbidity. Epidemiologic trends suggest that asthma may provide an excellent paradigm for understanding the role of community-level contextual factors in disease. Specifically, a multilevel approach that includes an ecological perspective may help to explain heterogeneities in asthma expression across socioeconomic and geographic boundaries that, to date, remain largely unexplained. Traditionally, asthma epidemiology has focused on individual-level risk factors and family factors. Far less attention has been given to the broader social context in which individuals live. A multilevel approach that explicitly recognizes the embedding of asthma within its biological, psycho-socioeconomic, environmental, and community contexts, is likely to provide a better understanding of asthma disparities at different stages in the life course. Is it simply asthma disparities or is it social disparities in asthma?

The Disproportionate and Potentially Negative Influence of Research Universities on the Quality of Geoscience Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samson, P. J.

2010-12-01

There is a large and growing body of research indicating that post-secondary education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is failing to prepare citizens for the 21st century economy. Introductory STEM courses are vital for preparing science majors for their fields of study and are the only exposure to science many college students will receive, but the quality of teaching in these courses is often not informed by research on teaching and learning. Research universities play an especially prominent role in the design of introductory courses. While research and doctoral universities account for only about 6% of all higher education institutions, they confer 32 per cent of the baccalaureate degrees, and 56 per cent of the baccalaureates earned by recent recipients of science and engineering doctorates. By assuming that larger introductory classes occur at research institutions one can estimate that a dominant number of students receiving introductory instruction in the geosciences are probably occurring at research institutions. Moreover, research universities produce the majority of tenure-track faculty who will later teach at four-year colleges, so the role of research institutions in the influence of introductory course design is expected to be disproportionately large. While introductory courses at research universities play a influential role in how such courses are designed, the teaching of introductory courses is too often viewed as an undesirable assignment for instructors at those institutions. The effort seems unrewarding with incentives for improving teaching at research institutions perceived as modest at best, if not negative. It is commonly perceived that teaching introductory courses will decrease opportunities for teaching higher-level courses to graduate students and/or to conduct research. Furthermore, even for those interested in improving their pedagogical methods, current approaches to professional development are generally difficult to scale and/or costly to institutions and outside instructors' normal workflow. This presentation reports on the results of surveys of research university instructors in an attempt to quantify the state of the introductory course. The surveys attempt to identify common barriers to improvement. Based on these surveys strategies for how to best implement systemic change in introductory courses at research universities are presented in the hope of stimulating discussion and a call to action.

Examining Household Asthma Management Behavior through a Microeconomic Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magzamen, Sheryl; Brandt, Sylvia J.; Tager, Ira B.

2014-01-01

National guidelines on the effective management of pediatric asthma have been promoted for over 20 years, yet asthma-related morbidity among low-income children remains disproportionately high. To date, household and clinical interventions designed to remediate these differences have been informed largely by a health behavior framework. However,…

Birth-Order Effects in the Academically Talented.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Wayne D.

1998-01-01

Birth-order position was studied among 828 academically talented sixth-grade students. When compared to census data, the sample was disproportionately composed of first-born students. However, this effect was largely explained by the covariate of family size, with small families over represented among the gifted. Other findings indicated no…

Southeast Asian American Children: Not the "Model Minority"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, KaYing

2004-01-01

Although an impressive number of Americans whose ancestors are from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam ("Southeast Asian Americans") have achieved tremendous success in education, a disproportionate number have found it difficult to succeed academically. Yet their difficulties are largely invisible to policymakers, who tend to look only to the…

Observations on Agricultural Policy, Policy Reform and Public Policy Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, John E., Jr.

The intervention of the United States government in agriculture in the 20th century is an explainable response to basic characteristics of agriculture: unpredictability, immobile resources, technological changes and disproportionate supply and demand factors. The concentration of large benefits among relatively few producers and diffusion of costs…

Increase of Foreign-Born Engineers in U.S. Studied.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krieger, James

1988-01-01

Summarizes the report of a National Research Council committee. Reports on three basic findings: the proportion of foreign born engineers in the United States has increased over the last 15 years; the increase is disproportionate in the academic sector; and large numbers of students are culturally different. (CW)

Substance Abuse among Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Shawna L. Carroll; Wu, Li-Tzy

2012-01-01

Individuals with disabilities are a growing population that confronts multiple disadvantages from social and environmental determinants of health. In particular, the 7-8 million people in the U.S. with an intellectual disability (ID) suffer disproportionately from substance use problems, largely because of a lack of empirical evidence to inform…

Megafauna moves nutrients uphill.

PubMed

Gross, Michael

2016-01-11

Large animals have a disproportionate capacity to transport nutrients along gradients and against water flow directions, making them more available to ecosystems and ultimately saving them from disappearing in sea floor sediments. Megafauna extinctions have reduced this capacity dramatically, while humans and their livestock aren’t stepping in to restore this important ecosystem service.

Health-Seeking Behaviors among Latinas: Practices and Reported Difficulties in Obtaining Health Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rojas-Guyler, Liliana; King, Keith A.; Montieth, Brigid A.

2008-01-01

Background: Latinos experience disproportionate negative health status and health care access. Expanding understanding of factors impacting Latino immigrant health is imperative. Purpose: This study identified health-seeking behaviors among Latinas in a large Midwestern city with rapid immigrant population growth. Health-seeking behaviors like…

HUB city steps: a 6-month lifestyle intervention improves blood pressure among a primarily African American community

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The effectiveness of community-based participatory research (CBPR) efforts to address the disproportionate burden of hypertension among African Americans remains largely untested. The objective of this 6-month, non-controlled, pre- post-experimental intervention was to examine the effectiveness of ...

Energy from Redox Disproportionation of Sugar Carbon Drives Biotic and Abiotic Synthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Arthur L.

1997-01-01

To identify the energy source that drives the biosynthesis of amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides from glucose, we calculated the free energy change due to redox disproportionation of the substrate carbon of: (1) 26-carbon fermentation reactions and (2) the biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids of E. coli from glucose. The free energy (cal/mmol of carbon) of these reactions was plotted as a function of the degree of redox disproportionation of carbon (disproportionative electron transfers (mmol)/mmol of carbon). The zero intercept and proportionality between energy yield and degree of redox disproportionation exhibited by this plot demonstrate that redox disproportionation is the principal energy source of these redox reactions (slope of linear fit = -10.4 cal/mmol of disproportionative electron transfers). The energy and disproportionation values of E. coli amino acid and lipid biosynthesis from glucose lie near this linear curve fit with redox disproportionation accounting for 84% and 96% (and ATP only 6% and 1 %) of the total energy of amino acid and lipid biosynthesis, respectively. These observations establish that redox disproportionation of carbon, and not ATP, is the primary energy source driving amino acid and lipid biosynthesis from glucose. In contrast, we found that nucteotide biosynthesis involves very little redox disproportionation, and consequently depends almost entirely on ATP for energy. The function of sugar redox disproportionation as the major source of free energy for the biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids suggests that sugar disproportionation played a central role in the origin of metabolism, and probably the origin of life.

Energy from Redox Disproportionation of Sugar Carbon Drives Biotic and Abiotic Synthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Arthur L.

1997-01-01

To identify the energy source that drives the biosynthesis of amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides from glucose, we calculated the free energy change due to redox disproportionation of the substrate carbon of: (1) 26-carbon fermentation reactions and (2) the biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids of E. coli from glucose. The free energy (cal/mmol of carbon) of these reactions was plotted as a function of the degree of redox disproportionation of carbon (disproportionative electron transfers (mmol)/mmol of carbon). The zero intercept and proportionality between energy yield and degree of redox disproportionation exhibited by this plot demonstrate that redox disproportionation is the principal energy source of these redox reactions (slope of linear fit = -10.4 cal/mmol of disproportionative electron transfers). The energy and disproportionation values of E. coli amino acid and lipid biosynthesis from glucose lie near this linear curve fit with redox disproportionation accounting for 84% and 96% (and ATP only 6% and 1%) of the total energy of amino acid and lipid biosynthesis, respectively. These observations establish that redox disproportionation of carbon, and not ATP, is the primary energy source driving amino acid and lipid biosynthesis from glucose. In contrast, we found that nucleotide biosynthesis involves very little redox disproportionation, and consequently depends almost entirely on ATP for energy. The function of sugar redox disproportionation as the major source of free energy for the biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids suggests that sugar disproportionation played a central role in the origin of metabolism, and probably the origin of life.

The multifaceted influence of gender in career progress in nursing.

PubMed

Tracey, Catherine; Nicholl, Honor

2007-10-01

The complex web of gender influence in the workplace results from a multifaceted interplay of factors [Walby et al. (1994) Medicine and Nursing. Sage Publications, London]. Literature reports that in nursing men's success compared with that of women is disproportionate and substantial evidence of gender-based disadvantage is found [Women in Management Review13 (1998) 184]. However, studies have not addressed the specific reasons for this and little is known of how or what influences nurses' career decisions and developments [Journal of Advanced Nursing25 (1997) 602]. Those studies which examine career developments and patterns are mainly found in the private business sector.

Latino Men with HIV/AIDS in New York State: Factors Influencing Use of Vocational Rehabilitation Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Datti, Paul Angelo

2009-01-01

As part of the fastest growing minority population in the U.S., Latino men are an ethnically and racially diverse group who are disproportionately affected by both HIV/AIDS and unemployment. As people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) continue to live longer and healthier lives, interest in their vocational development has been increasing, and research…

77 FR 77129 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change With...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-31

... Amendment of the By- Laws of its Parent Corporation, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. December 21, 2012. Pursuant... by-laws of its parent corporation, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (``NASDAQ OMX'' or the ``Corporation... organizations owned by NASDAQ OMX--do not have disproportionate influence on its governance. In making the...

Ab initio study of properties of BaBiO3 at high pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martoňák, Roman; Ceresoli, Davide; Kagayama, Tomoko; Tosatti, Erio

BaBiO3 is a mixed-valence perovskite which escapes metallic state by creating a Bi-O bond disproportionation or CDW pattern, resulting in a Peierls semiconductor with gap of nearly 1 eV at zero pressure. Evolution of structural and electronic properties at high pressure is, however, largely unknown. Pressure, it might be natural to expect, could reduce the bond-disproportionation and bring the system closer to metalicity or even superconductivity. We address this question by ab initio DFT methods based on GGA and hybrid functionals in combination with crystal structure prediction techniques based on genetic algorithms. We analyze the pressure evolution of bond disproportionation as well as other order parameters related to octahedra rotation for various phases in connection with corresponding evolution of the electronic structure. Results indicate that BaBiO3 continues to resist metalization also under pressure, through structural phase transitions which sustain and in fact increase the diversity of length of Bi-O bonds for neighboring Bi ions, in agreement with preliminary high pressure resistivity data. R.M. Slovak Research and Development Agency Contract APVV-15-0496, VEGA project No. 1-0904-15; E.T. ERC MODPHYSFRICT Advanced Grant No. 320796.

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

PubMed Central

Okbay, Aysu; Beauchamp, Jonathan P.; Fontana, Mark A.; Lee, James J.; Pers, Tune H.; Rietveld, Cornelius A.; Turley, Patrick; Chen, Guo-Bo; Emilsson, Valur; Meddens, S. Fleur W.; Oskarsson, Sven; Pickrell, Joseph K.; Thom, Kevin; Timshel, Pascal; de Vlaming, Ronald; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S.; Bacelis, Jonas; Baumbach, Clemens; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Brandsma, Johannes H.; Concas, Maria Pina; Derringer, Jaime; Furlotte, Nicholas A.; Galesloot, Tessel E.; Girotto, Giorgia; Gupta, Richa; Hall, Leanne M.; Harris, Sarah E.; Hofer, Edith; Horikoshi, Momoko; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Kaasik, Kadri; Kalafati, Ioanna P.; Karlsson, Robert; Kong, Augustine; Lahti, Jari; van der Lee, Sven J.; de Leeuw, Christiaan; Lind, Penelope A.; Lindgren, Karl-Oskar; Liu, Tian; Mangino, Massimo; Marten, Jonathan; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Michael B.; van der Most, Peter J.; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Payton, Antony; Pervjakova, Natalia; Peyrot, Wouter J.; Qian, Yong; Raitakari, Olli; Rueedi, Rico; Salvi, Erika; Schmidt, Börge; Schraut, Katharina E.; Shi, Jianxin; Smith, Albert V.; Poot, Raymond A.; Pourcain, Beate; Teumer, Alexander; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Verweij, Niek; Vuckovic, Dragana; Wellmann, Juergen; Westra, Harm-Jan; Yang, Jingyun; Zhao, Wei; Zhu, Zhihong; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z.; Amin, Najaf; Bakshi, Andrew; Baumeister, Sebastian E.; Biino, Ginevra; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boyle, Patricia A.; Campbell, Harry; Cappuccio, Francesco P.; Davies, Gail; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel; Deloukas, Panos; Demuth, Ilja; Ding, Jun; Eibich, Peter; Eisele, Lewin; Eklund, Niina; Evans68, David M.; Faul, Jessica D.; Feitosa, Mary F.; Forstner, Andreas J.; Gandin, Ilaria; Gunnarsson, Bjarni; Halldórsson, Bjarni V.; Harris, Tamara B.; Heath, Andrew C.; Hocking, Lynne J.; Holliday, Elizabeth G.; Homuth, Georg; Horan, Michael A.; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; de Jager, Philip L.; Joshi, Peter K.; Jugessur, Astanand; Kaakinen, Marika A.; Kähönen, Mika; Kanoni, Stavroula; Keltigangas-Järvinen, Liisa; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.L.M.; Kolcic, Ivana; Koskinen, Seppo; Kraja, Aldi T.; Kroh, Martin; Kutalik, Zoltan; Latvala, Antti; Launer, Lenore J.; Lebreton, Maël P.; Levinson, Douglas F.; Lichtenstein, Paul; Lichtner, Peter; Liewald, David C.M.; Loukola, Anu; Madden, Pamela A.; Mägi, Reedik; Mäki-Opas, Tomi; Marioni, Riccardo E.; Marques-Vidal, Pedro; Meddens, Gerardus A.; McMahon, George; Meisinger, Christa; Meitinger, Thomas; Milaneschi, Yusplitri; Milani, Lili; Montgomery, Grant W.; Myhre, Ronny; Nelson, Christopher P.; Nyholt, Dale R.; Ollier, William E.R.; Palotie, Aarno; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Petrovic, Katja E.; Porteous, David J.; Räikkönen, Katri; Ring, Susan M.; Robino, Antonietta; Rostapshova, Olga; Rudan, Igor; Rustichini, Aldo; Salomaa, Veikko; Sanders, Alan R.; Sarin, Antti-Pekka; Schmidt, Helena; Scott, Rodney J.; Smith, Blair H.; Smith, Jennifer A.; Staessen, Jan A.; Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth; Strauch, Konstantin; Terracciano, Antonio; Tobin, Martin D.; Ulivi, Sheila; Vaccargiu, Simona; Quaye, Lydia; van Rooij, Frank J.A.; Venturini, Cristina; Vinkhuyzen, Anna A.E.; Völker, Uwe; Völzke, Henry; Vonk, Judith M.; Vozzi, Diego; Waage, Johannes; Ware, Erin B.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Attia, John R.; Bennett, David A.; Berger, Klaus; Bertram, Lars; Bisgaard, Hans; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Borecki, Ingrid B.; Bultmann, Ute; Chabris, Christopher F.; Cucca, Francesco; Cusi, Daniele; Deary, Ian J.; Dedoussis, George V.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Franke, Barbara; Franke, Lude; Gasparini, Paolo; Gejman, Pablo V.; Gieger, Christian; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Gratten, Jacob; Groenen, Patrick J.F.; Gudnason, Vilmundur; van der Harst, Pim; Hayward, Caroline; Hinds, David A.; Hoffmann, Wolfgang; Hyppönen, Elina; Iacono, William G.; Jacobsson, Bo; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kardia, Sharon L.R.; Lehtimäki, Terho; Lehrer, Steven F.; Magnusson, Patrik K.E.; Martin, Nicholas G.; McGue, Matt; Metspalu, Andres; Pendleton, Neil; Penninx, Brenda W.J.H.; Perola, Markus; Pirastu, Nicola; Pirastu, Mario; Polasek, Ozren; Posthuma, Danielle; Power, Christine; Province, Michael A.; Samani, Nilesh J.; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Reinhold; Sørensen, Thorkild I.A.; Spector, Tim D.; Stefansson, Kari; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thurik, A. Roy; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Tiemeier, Henning; Tung, Joyce Y.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Vitart, Veronique; Vollenweider, Peter; Weir, David R.; Wilson, James F.; Wright, Alan F.; Conley, Dalton C.; Krueger, Robert F.; Smith, George Davey; Hofman, Albert; Laibson, David I.; Medland, Sarah E.; Meyer, Michelle N.; Yang, Jian; Johannesson, Magnus; Visscher, Peter M.; Esko, Tõnu; Koellinger, Philipp D.; Cesarini, David; Benjamin, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

Summary Educational attainment (EA) is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are also estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals1. We report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for EA that extends our earlier discovery sample1,2 of 101,069 individuals to 293,723 individuals, and a replication in an independent sample of 111,349 individuals from the UK Biobank. We now identify 74 genome-wide significant loci associated with number of years of schooling completed. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioral phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because EA is measured in large numbers of individuals, it will continue to be useful as a proxy phenotype in efforts to characterize the genetic influences of related phenotypes, including cognition and neuropsychiatric disease. PMID:27225129

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment.

PubMed

Okbay, Aysu; Beauchamp, Jonathan P; Fontana, Mark Alan; Lee, James J; Pers, Tune H; Rietveld, Cornelius A; Turley, Patrick; Chen, Guo-Bo; Emilsson, Valur; Meddens, S Fleur W; Oskarsson, Sven; Pickrell, Joseph K; Thom, Kevin; Timshel, Pascal; de Vlaming, Ronald; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S; Bacelis, Jonas; Baumbach, Clemens; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Brandsma, Johannes H; Pina Concas, Maria; Derringer, Jaime; Furlotte, Nicholas A; Galesloot, Tessel E; Girotto, Giorgia; Gupta, Richa; Hall, Leanne M; Harris, Sarah E; Hofer, Edith; Horikoshi, Momoko; Huffman, Jennifer E; Kaasik, Kadri; Kalafati, Ioanna P; Karlsson, Robert; Kong, Augustine; Lahti, Jari; van der Lee, Sven J; deLeeuw, Christiaan; Lind, Penelope A; Lindgren, Karl-Oskar; Liu, Tian; Mangino, Massimo; Marten, Jonathan; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Michael B; van der Most, Peter J; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Payton, Antony; Pervjakova, Natalia; Peyrot, Wouter J; Qian, Yong; Raitakari, Olli; Rueedi, Rico; Salvi, Erika; Schmidt, Börge; Schraut, Katharina E; Shi, Jianxin; Smith, Albert V; Poot, Raymond A; St Pourcain, Beate; Teumer, Alexander; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Verweij, Niek; Vuckovic, Dragana; Wellmann, Juergen; Westra, Harm-Jan; Yang, Jingyun; Zhao, Wei; Zhu, Zhihong; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z; Amin, Najaf; Bakshi, Andrew; Baumeister, Sebastian E; Biino, Ginevra; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boyle, Patricia A; Campbell, Harry; Cappuccio, Francesco P; Davies, Gail; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel; Deloukas, Panos; Demuth, Ilja; Ding, Jun; Eibich, Peter; Eisele, Lewin; Eklund, Niina; Evans, David M; Faul, Jessica D; Feitosa, Mary F; Forstner, Andreas J; Gandin, Ilaria; Gunnarsson, Bjarni; Halldórsson, Bjarni V; Harris, Tamara B; Heath, Andrew C; Hocking, Lynne J; Holliday, Elizabeth G; Homuth, Georg; Horan, Michael A; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; de Jager, Philip L; Joshi, Peter K; Jugessur, Astanand; Kaakinen, Marika A; Kähönen, Mika; Kanoni, Stavroula; Keltigangas-Järvinen, Liisa; Kiemeney, Lambertus A L M; Kolcic, Ivana; Koskinen, Seppo; Kraja, Aldi T; Kroh, Martin; Kutalik, Zoltan; Latvala, Antti; Launer, Lenore J; Lebreton, Maël P; Levinson, Douglas F; Lichtenstein, Paul; Lichtner, Peter; Liewald, David C M; Loukola, Anu; Madden, Pamela A; Mägi, Reedik; Mäki-Opas, Tomi; Marioni, Riccardo E; Marques-Vidal, Pedro; Meddens, Gerardus A; McMahon, George; Meisinger, Christa; Meitinger, Thomas; Milaneschi, Yusplitri; Milani, Lili; Montgomery, Grant W; Myhre, Ronny; Nelson, Christopher P; Nyholt, Dale R; Ollier, William E R; Palotie, Aarno; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pedersen, Nancy L; Petrovic, Katja E; Porteous, David J; Räikkönen, Katri; Ring, Susan M; Robino, Antonietta; Rostapshova, Olga; Rudan, Igor; Rustichini, Aldo; Salomaa, Veikko; Sanders, Alan R; Sarin, Antti-Pekka; Schmidt, Helena; Scott, Rodney J; Smith, Blair H; Smith, Jennifer A; Staessen, Jan A; Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth; Strauch, Konstantin; Terracciano, Antonio; Tobin, Martin D; Ulivi, Sheila; Vaccargiu, Simona; Quaye, Lydia; van Rooij, Frank J A; Venturini, Cristina; Vinkhuyzen, Anna A E; Völker, Uwe; Völzke, Henry; Vonk, Judith M; Vozzi, Diego; Waage, Johannes; Ware, Erin B; Willemsen, Gonneke; Attia, John R; Bennett, David A; Berger, Klaus; Bertram, Lars; Bisgaard, Hans; Boomsma, Dorret I; Borecki, Ingrid B; Bültmann, Ute; Chabris, Christopher F; Cucca, Francesco; Cusi, Daniele; Deary, Ian J; Dedoussis, George V; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Eriksson, Johan G; Franke, Barbara; Franke, Lude; Gasparini, Paolo; Gejman, Pablo V; Gieger, Christian; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Gratten, Jacob; Groenen, Patrick J F; Gudnason, Vilmundur; van der Harst, Pim; Hayward, Caroline; Hinds, David A; Hoffmann, Wolfgang; Hyppönen, Elina; Iacono, William G; Jacobsson, Bo; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kardia, Sharon L R; Lehtimäki, Terho; Lehrer, Steven F; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Martin, Nicholas G; McGue, Matt; Metspalu, Andres; Pendleton, Neil; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Perola, Markus; Pirastu, Nicola; Pirastu, Mario; Polasek, Ozren; Posthuma, Danielle; Power, Christine; Province, Michael A; Samani, Nilesh J; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Reinhold; Sørensen, Thorkild I A; Spector, Tim D; Stefansson, Kari; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thurik, A Roy; Timpson, Nicholas J; Tiemeier, Henning; Tung, Joyce Y; Uitterlinden, André G; Vitart, Veronique; Vollenweider, Peter; Weir, David R; Wilson, James F; Wright, Alan F; Conley, Dalton C; Krueger, Robert F; Davey Smith, George; Hofman, Albert; Laibson, David I; Medland, Sarah E; Meyer, Michelle N; Yang, Jian; Johannesson, Magnus; Visscher, Peter M; Esko, Tõnu; Koellinger, Philipp D; Cesarini, David; Benjamin, Daniel J

2016-05-26

Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends our earlier discovery sample of 101,069 individuals to 293,723 individuals, and a replication study in an independent sample of 111,349 individuals from the UK Biobank. We identify 74 genome-wide significant loci associated with the number of years of schooling completed. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioural phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because educational attainment is measured in large numbers of individuals, it will continue to be useful as a proxy phenotype in efforts to characterize the genetic influences of related phenotypes, including cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases.

Disproportionate Poverty, Conservatism, and the Disproportionate Identification of Minority Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiley, Andrew L.; Brigham, Frederick J.; Kauffman, James M.; Bogan, Jane E.

2013-01-01

Previous investigations of disproportionate representation of students from certain ethnic groups in special education have suggested that disproportionality is the result of bias against the members of overrepresented groups or, conversely, the result of disproportionate exposure to poverty for these students. Strong evidence in favor of either…

Associations Between Socioeconomic Factors and Alcohol Outcomes

PubMed Central

Collins, Susan E.

2016-01-01

Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the many factors influencing a person’s alcohol use and related outcomes. Findings have indicated that people with higher SES may consume similar or greater amounts of alcohol compared with people with lower SES, although the latter group seems to bear a disproportionate burden of negative alcohol-related consequences. These associations are further complicated by a variety of moderating factors, such as race, ethnicity, and gender. Thus, among individuals with lower SES, members of further marginalized communities, such as racial and ethnic minorities and homeless individuals, experience greater alcohol-related consequences. Future studies are needed to more fully explore the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between SES and alcohol outcomes. This knowledge should be applied toward the development of multilevel interventions that address not only individual-level risks but also economic disparities that have precipitated and maintained a disproportionate level of alcohol-related consequences among more marginalized and vulnerable populations. PMID:27159815

Associations Between Socioeconomic Factors and Alcohol Outcomes.

PubMed

Collins, Susan E

2016-01-01

Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the many factors influencing a person's alcohol use and related outcomes. Findings have indicated that people with higher SES may consume similar or greater amounts of alcohol compared with people with lower SES, although the latter group seems to bear a disproportionate burden of negative alcohol-related consequences. These associations are further complicated by a variety of moderating factors, such as race, ethnicity, and gender. Thus, among individuals with lower SES, members of further marginalized communities, such as racial and ethnic minorities and homeless individuals, experience greater alcohol-related consequences. Future studies are needed to more fully explore the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between SES and alcohol outcomes. This knowledge should be applied toward the development of multilevel interventions that address not only individual-level risks but also economic disparities that have precipitated and maintained a disproportionate level of alcohol-related consequences among more marginalized and vulnerable populations.

Women in hospital medicine in the United Kingdom: glass ceiling, preference, prejudice or cohort effect?

PubMed Central

McManus, I; Sproston, K

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE—To assess from official statistics whether there is evidence that the careers of women doctors in hospitals do not progress in the same way as those of men.
DESIGN—The proportions of female hospital doctors overall (1963-96), and in the specialties of medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, pathology, radiology/radiotherapy, anaesthetics and psychiatry (1974-1996) were examined. Additionally data were examined on career preferences and intentions from pre-registration house officers, final year medical students, and medical school applicants (1966-1991).
ANALYSIS—Data were analysed according to cohort of entry to medical school to assess the extent of disproportionate promotion.
RESULTS—The proportion of women in hospital career posts was largely explained by the rapidly increasing proportion of women entering medical school during the past three decades. In general there was little evidence for disproportionate promotion of women in hospital careers, although in surgery, hospital medicine and obstetrics and gynaecology, fewer women seemed to progress beyond the SHO grade, and in anaesthetics there were deficits of women at each career stage. Analyses of career preferences and intentions suggest that disproportionate promotion cannot readily be explained as differential choice by women.
CONCLUSIONS—Although there is no evidence as such of a "glass ceiling" for women doctors in hospital careers, and the current paucity of women consultants primarily reflects historical trends in the numbers of women entering medical school, there is evidence in some cases of disproportionate promotion that is best interpreted as direct or indirect discrimination.

 PMID:10692956

77 FR 8776 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 Atlantic Bluefish...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

... small businesses; thus, there would be no disproportionate impacts between large and small entities as a... environmental, economic, and social impacts of the recommendations. NMFS is responsible for reviewing these... (RFA), which describes the economic impact this proposed rule, if adopted, would have on small entities...

School Vouchers and Student Neighborhoods: Evidence from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Deven E.; Cowen, Joshua M.

2015-01-01

In this paper we explore the relationship between students' residential location and participation in Milwaukee's large, widely available private school voucher program. We are interested in one overarching question: do voucher schools disproportionately draw students from better public schools and city neighborhoods, or do they draw students most…

Addressing the Root Causes of Disparities in School Discipline: An Educator's Action Planning Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osher, D.; Fisher, D.; Amos, L.; Katz, J.; Dwyer, K.; Duffey, T.; Colombi, G. D.

2015-01-01

Discriminatory discipline practices in the nation's schools disproportionately impact students of color; students with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive disabilities; and youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ). Large numbers of these students are removed from class, lose opportunities to learn, and…

Changes in Body Mass Index during a 3-Year Elementary School-Based Obesity Prevention Program for American Indian and White Rural Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogeltanz-Holm, Nancy; Holm, Jeffrey

2018-01-01

Background: Childhood obesity is a significant but largely "modifiable" health risk, disproportionately affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minority, and rural children. Elementary school-aged children typically experience the greatest increases in excess weight gain and therefore are important targets for reducing…

Coaches Root Out Deep Bias

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Frank, Valerie

2010-01-01

African-American boys are sent to the principal's office more often than any other group and disproportionately to their numbers in a school, according to Victor Cary, partner at the National Equity Project in Oakland, California. That is just one example of how the issues of society at large--racism, classism, sexism, language, and other…

The Effects of Intradistrict School Mobility and High Student Turnover Rates on Early Reading Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeBoeuf, Whitney A.

2013-01-01

A number of studies have identified school mobility as one form of school disengagement that is disproportionately harmful for young children enrolled in large urban districts. However, there is substantial variation in these findings, with some studies actually evidencing positive associations between school mobility and academic outcomes (Mehana…

76 FR 8330 - Hawaii Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries; Modification to Advance Notification Period...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-14

... precision in forecasting the closure date, and also facilitate adherence to the catch limit by reducing the... Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact... disproportionate economic impacts between large and small entities, and the proposed action is not expected to have...

Face Inversion Disproportionately Impairs the Perception of Vertical but Not Horizontal Relations between Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goffaux, Valerie; Rossion, Bruno

2007-01-01

Upside-down inversion disrupts the processing of spatial relations between the features of a face, while largely preserving local feature analysis. However, recent studies on face inversion failed to observe a clear dissociation between relational and featural processing. To resolve these discrepancies and clarify how inversion affects face…

The relation between polyphenols and body composition in US Hispanics/Latinos: Results from the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) study of Latinos nutrition and physical activity assessment study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Polyphenols offer high antioxidant potential that may protect against chronic diseases. Epidemiologic evidence documenting their influence on body composition and obesity risk is limited, particularly among Hispanics/Latinos who are disproportionately prone to obesity. The aims of this study were to...

Message Formats and Their Influence on Perceived Risks of Tobacco Use: A Pilot Formative Research Project in India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pischke, Claudia R.; Galarce, Ezequiel M.; Nagler, Eve; Aghi, Mira; Sorensen, Glorian; Gupta, Prakash C.; Pednekar, Mangesh S.; Sinha, Dhirendra N.; Viswanath, K.

2013-01-01

In India, tobacco kills 900 000 people every year though the burden of tobacco is faced disproportionately in poorer states such as Bihar. Teachers may be a particularly influential group in setting norms around tobacco use in the Indian context. However, tobacco use among teachers remains high and perceptions of tobacco-related health risks are…

Cleaner fish drives local fish diversity on coral reefs.

PubMed

Grutter, Alexandra S; Murphy, Jan Maree; Choat, J Howard

2003-01-08

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse habitats in the world, yet our understanding of the processes affecting their biodiversity is limited. At the local scale, cleaner fish are thought to have a disproportionate effect, in relation to their abundance and size, on the activity of many other fish species, but confirmation of this species' effect on local fish diversity has proved elusive. The cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus has major effects on fish activity patterns and may indirectly affect fish demography through the removal of large numbers of parasites. Here we show that small reefs where L. dimidiatus had been experimentally excluded for 18 months had half the species diversity of fish and one-fourth the abundance of individuals. Only fish that move among reefs, however, were affected. These fish include large species that themselves can affect other reef organisms. In contrast, the distribution of resident fish was not affected by cleaner fish. Thus, many fish appear to choose reefs based on the presence of cleaner fish. Our findings indicate that a single small and not very abundant fish has a strong influence on the movement patterns, habitat choice, activity, and local diversity and abundance of a wide variety of reef fish species.

Progress and limitations on quantifying nutrient and carbon loading to coastal waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stets, E.; Oelsner, G. P.; Stackpoole, S. M.

2017-12-01

Riverine export of nutrients and carbon to estuarine and coastal waters are important determinants of coastal ecosystem health and provide necessary insight into global biogeochemical cycles. Quantification of coastal solute loads typically relies upon modeling based on observations of concentration and discharge from selected rivers draining to the coast. Most large-scale river export models require unidirectional flow and thus are referenced to monitoring locations at the head of tide, which can be located far inland. As a result, the contributions of the coastal plain, tidal wetlands, and concentrated coastal development are often poorly represented in regional and continental-scale estimates of solute delivery to coastal waters. However, site-specific studies have found that these areas are disproportionately active in terms of nutrient and carbon export. Modeling efforts to upscale fluxes from these areas, while not common, also suggest an outsized importance to coastal flux estimates. This presentation will focus on illustrating how the problem of under-representation of near-shore environments impacts large-scale coastal flux estimates in the context of recent regional and continental-scale assessments. Alternate approaches to capturing the influence of the near-coastal terrestrial inputs including recent data aggregation efforts and modeling approaches will be discussed.

Impact of regional climate change on human health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patz, Jonathan A.; Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid; Holloway, Tracey; Foley, Jonathan A.

2005-11-01

The World Health Organisation estimates that the warming and precipitation trends due to anthropogenic climate change of the past 30years already claim over 150,000 lives annually. Many prevalent human diseases are linked to climate fluctuations, from cardiovascular mortality and respiratory illnesses due to heatwaves, to altered transmission of infectious diseases and malnutrition from crop failures. Uncertainty remains in attributing the expansion or resurgence of diseases to climate change, owing to lack of long-term, high-quality data sets as well as the large influence of socio-economic factors and changes in immunity and drug resistance. Here we review the growing evidence that climate-health relationships pose increasing health risks under future projections of climate change and that the warming trend over recent decades has already contributed to increased morbidity and mortality in many regions of the world. Potentially vulnerable regions include the temperate latitudes, which are projected to warm disproportionately, the regions around the Pacific and Indian oceans that are currently subjected to large rainfall variability due to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation sub-Saharan Africa and sprawling cities where the urban heat island effect could intensify extreme climatic events.

Impact of regional climate change on human health.

PubMed

Patz, Jonathan A; Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid; Holloway, Tracey; Foley, Jonathan A

2005-11-17

The World Health Organisation estimates that the warming and precipitation trends due to anthropogenic climate change of the past 30 years already claim over 150,000 lives annually. Many prevalent human diseases are linked to climate fluctuations, from cardiovascular mortality and respiratory illnesses due to heatwaves, to altered transmission of infectious diseases and malnutrition from crop failures. Uncertainty remains in attributing the expansion or resurgence of diseases to climate change, owing to lack of long-term, high-quality data sets as well as the large influence of socio-economic factors and changes in immunity and drug resistance. Here we review the growing evidence that climate-health relationships pose increasing health risks under future projections of climate change and that the warming trend over recent decades has already contributed to increased morbidity and mortality in many regions of the world. Potentially vulnerable regions include the temperate latitudes, which are projected to warm disproportionately, the regions around the Pacific and Indian oceans that are currently subjected to large rainfall variability due to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation sub-Saharan Africa and sprawling cities where the urban heat island effect could intensify extreme climatic events.

Salt disproportionation: A material science perspective.

PubMed

Thakral, Naveen K; Kelly, Ron C

2017-03-30

While screening the counter-ions for salt selection for an active pharmaceutical substance, there is often an uncertainty about disproportionation of the salt and hence physical stability of the final product formulation to provide adequate shelf life. Several examples of disproportionation reactions are reviewed to explain the concepts of pHmax, microenvironmental pH, and buffering capacity of excipients and APIs to gain mechanistic understanding of disproportionation reaction. Miscellaneous factors responsible for disproportionation are examined. In addition to the dissolution failure due to the formation of less soluble unionized form, various implications of the disproportionation are evaluated with specific examples. During lead optimization and early stages of development, when only a limited amount of material is available, use of predictive tools like mathematical models and model free kinetics to rank order the various counter-ions are discussed in detail. Finally, analytical methods and mitigation strategies are discussed to prevent the disproportionation by detecting it during early stages of drug development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multilevel context of depression in two American Indian tribes.

PubMed

Kaufman, Carol E; Beals, Janette; Croy, Calvin; Jiang, Luohua; Novins, Douglas K

2013-12-01

Depression is a major debilitating disease. For American Indians living in tribal reservations, who endure disproportionately high levels of stress and poverty often associated with depression, determining the patterns and correlates is key to appropriate clinical assessment and intervention development. Yet little attention has been given to the cultural context of correlates for depression, including the influence of family, cultural traditions or practices, or community conditions. We used data from a large representative psychiatric epidemiological study among American Indians in 2 reservation communities to estimate nested individual and multilevel models of past-year major depressive episode (MDE) accounting for family, cultural, and community conditions. We found that models including culturally informed individual-level measures significantly improved the model fit over demographics alone. We found significant community-level variation in the probability of past-year MDE diagnosis in 1 tribe even after accounting for individual-level characteristics. Accounting for culture, family, and community context will facilitate research, clinician assessment, and treatment of depression in diverse settings.

Solar variability, coupling between atmospheric layers and climate change.

PubMed

Arnold, Neil

2002-12-15

One of the enduring puzzles of atmospheric physics is the extent to which changes in the Sun can influence the behaviour of the climate system. While solar-flux changes tend to be relatively modest, a number of observations of atmospheric parameters indicates a disproportionately large response. Global-scale models of the coupled middle and upper atmosphere have provided new insights into some of the mechanisms that may be responsible for the amplification of the solar signal. In particular, modification of the transport of heat and chemicals such as ozone by waves during periods of solar activity has been shown to make an important contribution to the climate of the stratosphere and mesosphere. In this paper, a review of some of the recent advances in understanding the coupling between atmospheric layers and how this work relates to Sun-weather relations and climate change in the troposphere will be presented, along with a discussion of some of the challenges that remain.

Risk of Osteoporotic Fracture After Steroid Injections in Patients With Medicare.

PubMed

Carreon, Leah Y; Ong, Kevin L; Lau, Edmund; Kurtz, Steven M; Glassman, Steven D

To further evaluate the relationship between steroid injections and osteoporotic fracture risk, we analyzed Medicare administrative claims data on both large-joint steroid injections (LJSIs) into knee and hip and transforaminal steroid injections (TSIs), as well as osteoporotic hip and wrist fractures. Our hypothesis was that a systemic effect of steroid injections would increase fracture risk in all skeletal locations regardless of injection site, whereas a local effect would produce a disproportionate increased risk of spine fracture with spine injection. Patients treated with an LJSI, a TSI, or an epidural steroid injection (ESI) were identified from 5% Medicare claims data. Patients under age 65 years and patients with prior osteoporotic fracture were excluded. Analyses were performed to determine fracture risk (adjusted hazard ratio) for each type of injection. Analysis of the Medicare data revealed that ESIs were associated with decreased osteoporotic spine fracture risk, but the effect was small and might not be clinically relevant. ESIs did not influence osteoporotic hip or wrist fracture risk, but LJSIs reduced the risk.

Multilevel Context of Depression in Two American Indian Tribes

PubMed Central

Kaufman, Carol E.; Beals, Janette; Croy, Calvin; Jiang, Luohua; Novins, Douglas K.

2015-01-01

Objective Depression is a major debilitating disease. For American Indians living in tribal reservations, who endure disproportionately high levels of stress and poverty often associated with depression, determining the patterns and correlates is key to appropriate clinical assessment and intervention development. Yet, little attention has been given to the cultural context of correlates for depression, including the influence of family, cultural traditions or practices, or community conditions. Method We used data from a large representative psychiatric epidemiological study among American Indians in two reservation communities to estimate nested individual and multilevel models of past-year Major Depressive Episode (MDE) accounting for family, cultural, and community conditions. Results We found that models including culturally informed individual-level measures significantly improved the model fit over demographics alone. We found significant community-level variation in the probability of past-year MDE diagnosis in one tribe even after accounting for individual-level characteristics. Conclusions Accounting for culture, family, and community context will facilitate research, clinician assessment, and treatment of depression in diverse settings. PMID:24016293

The Continuing Problem of Asthma in Very Young Children: A Community-Based Participatory Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Belinda Wilburn; Awad, Daniel; Alexander, Jeffrey; Clark, Noreen

2009-01-01

Background: Asthma is a chronic health condition that has a disproportionate effect on low-income minority children who reside in large urban areas. African American children report significantly higher rates than the general population of children and have more-severe asthma and poorer outcomes. This article describes the prevalence of asthma in…

Black Suburbanization in Texas Metropolitan Areas and Its Impact on Student Achievement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kain, John F.; O'Brien, Daniel M.

Suburban schools are generally of higher quality than the inner city schools that continue to serve a disproportionate share of black children. This study provided significant evidence that school quality, measured by the mean test scores for individual grades/campuses, has a large impact on the achievement of individual students. The analysis…

Strategic Staffing? How Performance Pressures Affect the Distribution of Teachers within Schools and Resulting Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grissom, Jason A.; Kalogrides, Demetra; Loeb, Susanna

2017-01-01

School performance pressures apply disproportionately to tested grades and subjects. Using longitudinal administrative data--including achievement data from untested grades--and teacher survey data from a large urban district, we examine schools' responses to those pressures in assigning teachers to high-stakes and low-stakes classrooms. We find…

Fertility and Birth Rates: Indicators of Child and Youth Well-Being. Updated. October 2016

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2016

2016-01-01

Tracking trends in fertility and birth rates is essential in planning for the current and future needs of multiple generations. Sustained high fertility rates lead to disproportionately large populations of young dependents, driving demand for supports for young families, for additional schools, and for affordable child care. For example, during…

Understanding the Disproportionately Low Marriage Rate among African Americans: An Amalgam of Sociological and Psychological Constraints

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chambers, Anthony L.; Kravitz, Aliza

2011-01-01

African Americans have the lowest marriage rate of any racial and ethnic group in America. Although the low marriage rate among African Americans has been largely examined through a sociological lens by documenting structural barriers, which has important policy implications, researchers have not sufficiently examined the psychological and…

Monozygotic Twins with Asperger Syndrome: Differences in Behaviour Reflect Variations in Brain Structure and Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belmonte, Matthew K.; Carper, Ruth A.

2006-01-01

A pair of monozygotic twins discordant for symptoms of Asperger syndrome was evaluated at the age of 13.45 years using psychometric, morphometric, behavioural, and functional imaging methods. The lower-functioning twin had a smaller brain overall, a smaller right cerebellum, and a disproportionately large left frontal lobe, and manifested almost…

The Effects of School Desegregation on Crime. NBER Working Paper No. 15380

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiner, David A.; Lutz, Byron F.; Ludwig, Jens

2009-01-01

One of the most striking features of crime in America is its disproportionate concentration in disadvantaged, racially segregated communities. In this paper we estimate the effects of court-ordered school desegregation on crime by exploiting plausibly random variation in the timing of when these orders go into effect across the set of large urban…

Condom Use among Heterosexual Immigrant Latino Men in the Southeastern United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knipper, Emily; Rhodes, Scott D.; Lindstrom, Kristen; Bloom, Fred R.; Leichliter, Jami S.; Montano, Jaime

2007-01-01

Latinos in the United States have been disproportionately affected by the intersecting epidemics of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We examined correlates of condom use among adult heterosexual Latino men who are members of a large multicounty soccer league in rural North Carolina. Of 222 participants, the mean (plus or minus SD) age…

Spontaneous release from mossy fiber terminals inhibits Ni2+-sensitive T-type Ca2+ channels of CA3 pyramidal neurons in the rat organotypic hippocampal slice.

PubMed

Reid, Christopher A; Xu, Shenghong; Williams, David A

2008-01-01

Mossy fibers (axons arising from dentate granule cells) form large synaptic contacts exclusively onto the proximal apical dendrites of CA3 pyramidal neurons. They can generate large synaptic currents that occur in close proximity to the soma. These properties mean that active conductance in the proximal apical dendrite could have a disproportionate influence on CA3 pyramidal neuron excitability. Ni(2+)-sensitive T-type Ca(2+) channels are important modulators of dendritic excitability. Here, we use an optical approach to determine the contribution of Ni(2+) (100 microM)-sensitive Ca(2+) channels to action potential (AP) elicited Ca(2+) flux in the soma, proximal apical and distal apical dendrites. At resting membrane potentials Ni(2+)-sensitive Ca(2+) channels do not contribute to the Ca(2+) signal in the proximal apical dendrite, but do contribute in the other cell regions. Spontaneous release from mossy fiber terminals acting on 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX)-sensitive postsynaptic channels underlies a tonic inhibition of Ni(2+)-sensitive channels. Chelating Zn(2+) with CaEDTA blocks CNQX-sensitive changes in Ca(2+) flux implicating a mechanistic role of this ion in T-type Ca(2+) channel block. To test if this inhibition influenced excitability, progressively larger depolarizing pulses were delivered to CA3 pyramidal neurons. CNQX significantly reduced the size of the depolarizing step required to generate APs and increased the absolute number of APs per depolarizing step. This change in AP firing was completely reversed by the addition of Ni(2+). This mechanism may reduce the impact of T-type Ca(2+) channels in a region where large synaptic events are common.

Ambient air pollution exposure and the incidence of related health effects among racial/ethnic minorities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nieves, L.A.; Wernette, D.R.

1997-02-01

Differences among racial and ethnic groups in morbidity and mortality rates for diseases, including diseases with environmental causes, have been extensively documented. However, documenting the linkages between environmental contaminants, individual exposures, and disease incidence has been hindered by difficulties in measuring exposure for the population in general and for minority populations in particular. After briefly discussing research findings on associations of common air pollutants with disease incidence, the authors summarize recent studies of radial/ethnic subgroup differences in incidence of these diseases in the US. They then present evidence of both historic and current patterns of disproportionate minority group exposure tomore » air pollution as measured by residence in areas where ambient air quality standards are violated. The current indications of disproportionate potential exposures of minority and low-income populations to air pollutants represent the continuation of a historical trend. The evidence of linkage between disproportionate exposure to air pollution of racial/ethnic minorities and low-income groups and their higher rates of some air pollution-related diseases is largely circumstantial. Differences in disease incidence and mortality rates among racial/ethnic groups are discussed for respiratory diseases, cancers, and lead poisoning. Pollutants of concern include CO, Pb, SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, and particulates.« less

Planning Ahead: Influence of Figure Orientation on Size of Head in Children's Drawings of a Man.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willatts, Peter; Dougal, Shonagh

In an investigation of causes of the disproportionate relation between head and body in children's drawings of the human figure, 160 children of 3-10 years of age produced drawings of a man viewed from the front and from the back. It was expected that if planning to include facial features increased the size of the head children drew, then heads…

Kinetic study of GeO disproportionation into a GeO{sub 2}/Ge system using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang Shengkai; Department of Materials Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency

2012-08-06

GeO disproportionation into GeO{sub 2} and Ge is studied through x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Direct evidence for the reaction 2GeO {yields} GeO{sub 2} + Ge after annealing in ultra-high vacuum is presented. Activation energy for GeO disproportionation is found to be about 0.7 {+-} 0.2 eV through kinetic and thermodynamic calculations. A kinetic model of GeO disproportionation is established by considering oxygen transfer in the GeO network. The relationship between GeO disproportionation and GeO desorption induced by GeO{sub 2}/Ge interfacial reaction is discussed, and the apparent contradiction between GeO desorption via interfacial redox reaction and GeO disproportionation into Ge and GeO{submore » 2} is explained by considering the oxygen vacancy.« less

Mechanisms of Mineral Substrate Acquisition in a Thermoacidophile.

PubMed

Amenabar, Maximiliano J; Boyd, Eric S

2018-06-15

The thermoacidophile Acidianus is widely distributed in Yellowstone National Park hot springs that span large gradients in pH (1.60 to 4.84), temperature (42 to 90°C), and mineralogical composition. To characterize the potential role of flexibility in mineral-dependent energy metabolism in contributing to the widespread ecological distribution of this organism, we characterized the spectrum of minerals capable of supporting metabolism and the mechanisms that it uses to access these minerals. The energy metabolism of Acidianus strain DS80 was supported by elemental sulfur (S 0 ), a variety of iron (hydr)oxides, and arsenic sulfide. Strain DS80 reduced, oxidized, and disproportionated S 0 Cells growing via S 0 reduction and disproportionation did not require direct access to the mineral to reduce it, whereas cells growing via S 0 oxidation did require direct access, observations that are attributable to the role of H 2 S produced by S 0 reduction/disproportionation in solubilizing and increasing the bioavailability of S 0 Cells growing via iron (hydr)oxide reduction did not require access to the mineral, suggesting that the cells reduce Fe(III) that is being leached by the acidic growth medium. Cells growing via oxidation of arsenic sulfide with Fe(III) did not require access to the mineral to grow. The stoichiometry of reactants to products indicates that cells oxidize soluble As(III) released from oxidation of arsenic sulfide by aqueous Fe(III). Taken together, these observations underscore the importance of feedbacks between abiotic and biotic reactions in influencing the bioavailability of mineral substrates and defining ecological niches capable of supporting microbial metabolism. IMPORTANCE Mineral sources of electron donor and acceptor that support microbial metabolism are abundant in the natural environment. However, the spectrum of minerals capable of supporting a given microbial strain and the mechanisms that are used to access these minerals in support of microbial energy metabolism are often unknown, in particular among thermoacidophiles. Here, we show that the thermoacidophile Acidianus strain DS80 is adapted to use a variety of iron (hydro)oxide minerals, elemental sulfur, and arsenic sulfide to support growth. Cells rely on a complex interplay of abiologically and biologically catalyzed reactions that increase the solubility or bioavailability of minerals, thereby enabling their use in microbial metabolism. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Symmetry and charge order in Fe2OBO3 studied through polarized resonant x-ray diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bland, S. R.; Angst, M.; Adiga, S.; Scagnoli, V.; Johnson, R. D.; Herrero-Martín, J.; Hatton, P. D.

2010-09-01

Bond valence sum calculations have previously suggested that iron oxyborate exhibits charge order of the Fe ions with integer 2+/3+ valence states. Meanwhile transition metal oxides typically show much smaller, fractional charge disproportionations. Using resonant x-ray diffraction at the iron K edge, we find resonant features which are much larger than those ordinarily observed in charge ordered oxides. Simulations were subsequently performed using a cluster-based, monoelectronic code. The nanoscale domain structure prevents precise fitting; nevertheless the simulations confirm the diagonal charge order symmetry, as well as the unusually large charge disproportionation. We have demonstrated the conversion of linearly to nonlinearly polarized light and vice versa through full polarization analysis. Simulations show that this effect principally results from interference between the isotropic and anisotropic scattering terms. This mechanism is likely to account for similar observations in alternative systems.

Strategic Staffing? How Performance Pressures Affect the Distribution of Teachers within Schools and Resulting Student Achievement. CEPA Working Paper No. 15-15

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grissom, Jason; Kalogrides, Demetra; Loeb, Susanna

2015-01-01

School performance pressures apply disproportionately to tested grades and subjects. Using longitudinal administrative data and teacher survey data from a large urban school district, we examine schools' responses to those pressures in assigning teachers to high-stakes and low-stakes classrooms. We find that teachers who produce greater student…

Evaluation of methods for delineating riparian zones in a semi-arid montane watershed

Treesearch

Jessica A. Salo; David M. Theobald; Thomas C. Brown

2016-01-01

Riparian zones in semi-arid, mountainous regions provide a disproportionate amount of the available wildlife habitat and ecosystem services. Despite their importance, there is little guidance on the best way to map riparian zones for broad spatial extents (e.g., large watersheds) when detailed maps from field data or high-resolution imagery and terrain data...

"Who'd Want To Walk Around Smelling Air That Stinks All the Time?: African American Parents' Views on the Environment and Environmental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahn, Peter H., Jr.; Friedman, Batya

African American communities are disproportionately subjected to large amounts of environmental pollution and environmental hazards. However, little is known about their environmental concerns, understandings, and values. In the study reported in this paper, 24 African American parents from Houston, Texas were interviewed on their perspectives…

Meadow-stream processes and aquatic invertebrate community structure [chapter 6

Treesearch

Chris A. Jannusch; Sudeep Chandra; Tom Dudley; Jeanne C. Chambers; Wendy Trowbridge

2011-01-01

Riparian areas make up less than 1 percent of the total area of the Great Basin, yet they provide many critical ecosystem services, and they support a disproportionately large percentage of the regional biodiversity (Hubbard 1977; Saab and Groves 1992). Jenson and Platts (1990) estimate that over 50 percent of the riparian areas in the Great Basin are in poor...

Exploring the Experiences of African American Women in an Undergraduate Summer Research Program Designed to Address the Underrepresentation of Women and Minorities in Neuroscience: A Qualitative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Ericka L.

2010-01-01

African American women compose a critical proportion of the potential science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce of the future, yet are disproportionately represented and largely underutilized. While various programs and initiatives have been designed and implemented to target women and underrepresented minorities, the…

Why Are All the Black Kids Still in Special Education? Revisiting the Issue of Disproportionate Representation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shealey, Monika Williams; Lue, Martha Scott

2006-01-01

The overrepresentation of students of color in special education continues to be a prevalent, disturbing, and heavily debated problem in this country. What remains is the reality that a large number of African American students continue to be referred and placed in special education programs. On the heels of 2 reports commissioned by the National…

Factors That Promote the Academic Success of African American Male Students in High School Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Tyrone J.

2014-01-01

Low performance of African American male students in high school math is an ongoing concern of Maryland's public schools. Because disproportionately large numbers of African American male students enroll in Algebra 2 in Grade 11, the use of early academic counseling to promote enrollment in Algebra 2 in Grade 9 and to increase self-regulation may…

Malpractice Burden, Rural Location, and Discontinuation of Obstetric Care: A Study of Obstetric Providers in Michigan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Xiao; Siefert, Kristine A.; Jacobson, Peter D.; Lori, Jody R.; Gueorguieva, Iana; Ransom, Scott B.

2009-01-01

Context: It has long been a concern that professional liability problems disproportionately affect the delivery of obstetrical services to women living in rural areas. Michigan, a state with a large number of rural communities, is considered to be at risk for a medical liability crisis. Purpose: This study examined whether higher malpractice…

Influence plots for LASSO

DOE PAGES

Jang, Dae -Heung; Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela

2016-11-22

With many predictors in regression, fitting the full model can induce multicollinearity problems. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operation (LASSO) is useful when the effects of many explanatory variables are sparse in a high-dimensional dataset. Influential points can have a disproportionate impact on the estimated values of model parameters. Here, this paper describes a new influence plot that can be used to increase understanding of the contributions of individual observations and the robustness of results. This can serve as a complement to other regression diagnostics techniques in the LASSO regression setting. Using this influence plot, we can find influential pointsmore » and their impact on shrinkage of model parameters and model selection. Lastly, we provide two examples to illustrate the methods.« less

Influence plots for LASSO

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jang, Dae -Heung; Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela

With many predictors in regression, fitting the full model can induce multicollinearity problems. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operation (LASSO) is useful when the effects of many explanatory variables are sparse in a high-dimensional dataset. Influential points can have a disproportionate impact on the estimated values of model parameters. Here, this paper describes a new influence plot that can be used to increase understanding of the contributions of individual observations and the robustness of results. This can serve as a complement to other regression diagnostics techniques in the LASSO regression setting. Using this influence plot, we can find influential pointsmore » and their impact on shrinkage of model parameters and model selection. Lastly, we provide two examples to illustrate the methods.« less

Design concept for α-hydrogen-substituted nitroxides.

PubMed

Amar, Michal; Bar, Sukanta; Iron, Mark A; Toledo, Hila; Tumanskii, Boris; Shimon, Linda J W; Botoshansky, Mark; Fridman, Natalia; Szpilman, Alex M

2015-02-06

Stable nitroxides (nitroxyl radicals) have many essential and unique applications in chemistry, biology and medicine. However, the factors influencing their stability are still under investigation, and this hinders the design and development of new nitroxides. Nitroxides with tertiary alkyl groups are generally stable but obviously highly encumbered. In contrast, α-hydrogen-substituted nitroxides are generally inherently unstable and rapidly decompose. Herein, a novel, concept for the design of stable cyclic α-hydrogen nitroxides is described, and a proof-of-concept in the form of the facile synthesis and characterization of two diverse series of stable α-hydrogen nitroxides is presented. The stability of these unique α-hydrogen nitroxides is attributed to a combination of steric and stereoelectronic effects by which disproportionation is kinetically precluded. These stabilizing effects are achieved by the use of a nitroxide co-planar substituent in the γ-position of the backbone of the nitroxide. This premise is supported by a computational study, which provides insight into the disproportionation pathways of α-hydrogen nitroxides.

“I Can Never Be Too Comfortable”: Race, Gender, and Emotion at the Hospital Bedside

PubMed Central

Cottingham, Marci D.; Johnson, Austin H.; Erickson, Rebecca J.

2017-01-01

In this article, we examine how race and gender shape nurses’ emotion practice. Based on audio diaries collected from 48 nurses within two Midwestern hospital systems in the United States, we illustrate the disproportionate emotional labor that emerges among women nurses of color in the white institutional space of American health care. In this environment, women of color experience an emotional double shift as a result of negotiating patient, coworker, and supervisor interactions. In confronting racist encounters, nurses of color in our sample experience additional job-related stress, must perform disproportionate amounts of emotional labor, and experience depleted emotional resources that negatively influence patient care. Methodologically, the study extends prior research by using audio diaries collected from a racially diverse sample to capture emotion as a situationally emergent and complex feature of nursing practice. We also extend research on nursing by tracing both the sources and consequences of unequal emotion practices for nurse well-being and patient care. PMID:29094641

Geo-Demography of HIV/AIDS in Japan from 1985 to 2011: Incidence and Transmission Mode under Influence of Population Size/Density.

PubMed

Yoshikura, Hiroshi

2016-01-01

A stable relation was found between number of HIV/AIDS patients (P) and population size (N) and between HIV/AIDS incidence (I) and population density (D). The relation could be expressed as P = kN(m) or I = hD(n), where k, h, m, and n are constants. For "AIDS"/"AIDS diagnosis", the constant m was 1.5 for Japan and 1.3 for the United States of America (USA); n was 0.38 for both Japan and the USA. These observations indicated that larger population sizes related to disproportionately larger numbers of HIV/AIDS patients, and denser populations had disproportionately higher incidences of HIV/AIDS. Considering the wide geo-demographic difference between the two countries, it was striking that the same equations with constants within a narrow range were applicable to both Japan and the USA. Modes of HIV transmission appeared to be variable among prefectures in Japan. Homosexual transmission was suggested as being more predominant in more populated prefectures.

Parents who influence their children to become scientists: effects of gender and parental education.

PubMed

Sonnert, Gerhard

2009-12-01

In this paper we report on testing the 'role-model' and 'opportunity-structure' hypotheses about the parents whom scientists mentioned as career influencers. According to the role-model hypothesis, the gender match between scientist and influencer is paramount (for example, women scientists would disproportionately often mention their mothers as career influencers). According to the opportunity-structure hypothesis, the parent's educational level predicts his/her probability of being mentioned as a career influencer (that is, parents with higher educational levels would be more likely to be named). The examination of a sample of American scientists who had received prestigious postdoctoral fellowships resulted in rejecting the role-model hypothesis and corroborating the opportunity-structure hypothesis. There were a few additional findings. First, women scientists were more likely than men scientists to mention parental influencers. Second, fathers were more likely than mothers to be mentioned as influencers. Third, an interaction was found between the scientist's gender and parental education when predicting a parent's nomination as influencer.

Female Drosophila melanogaster gene expression and mate choice: the X chromosome harbours candidate genes underlying sexual isolation.

PubMed

Bailey, Richard I; Innocenti, Paolo; Morrow, Edward H; Friberg, Urban; Qvarnström, Anna

2011-02-28

The evolution of female choice mechanisms favouring males of their own kind is considered a crucial step during the early stages of speciation. However, although the genomics of mate choice may influence both the likelihood and speed of speciation, the identity and location of genes underlying assortative mating remain largely unknown. We used mate choice experiments and gene expression analysis of female Drosophila melanogaster to examine three key components influencing speciation. We show that the 1,498 genes in Zimbabwean female D. melanogaster whose expression levels differ when mating with more (Zimbabwean) versus less (Cosmopolitan strain) preferred males include many with high expression in the central nervous system and ovaries, are disproportionately X-linked and form a number of clusters with low recombination distance. Significant involvement of the brain and ovaries is consistent with the action of a combination of pre- and postcopulatory female choice mechanisms, while sex linkage and clustering of genes lead to high potential evolutionary rate and sheltering against the homogenizing effects of gene exchange between populations. Taken together our results imply favourable genomic conditions for the evolution of reproductive isolation through mate choice in Zimbabwean D. melanogaster and suggest that mate choice may, in general, act as an even more important engine of speciation than previously realized.

QTL mapping of leukocyte telomere length in American Indians: The Strong Heart Family Study

PubMed Central

Lin, Jue; Matsuguchi, Tet; Blackburn, Elizabeth; Best, Lyle G.; Lee, Elisa T.; MacCluer, Jean W.; Cole, Shelley A.; Zhao, Jinying

2013-01-01

Telomeres play a central role in cellular senescence and are associated with a variety of age-related disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. Telomere length varies greatly among individuals of the same age, and is heritable. Here we performed a genome-wide linkage scan to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing leukocyte telomere length (LTL) measured by quantitative PCR in 3,665 American Indians (aged 14 – 93 years) from 94 large, multi-generational families. All participants were recruited by the Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS), a prospective study to identify genetic factors for cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in American Indians residing in Oklahoma, Arizona and Dakota. LTL heritability was estimated to be between 51% and 62%, suggesting a strong genetic predisposition to interindividual variation of LTL in this population. Significant QTLs were localized to chromosome 13 (Logarithm of odds score (LOD) = 3.9) at 13q12.11, to 18q22.2 (LOD = 3.2) and to 3p14.1 (LOD = 3.0) for Oklahoma. This is the first study to identify susceptibility loci influencing leukocyte telomere variation in American Indians, a minority group suffering from a disproportionately high rate of type 2 diabetes and other age-related disorders. PMID:24036517

Use of historical logging patterns to identify disproportionately logged ecosystems within temperate rainforests of southeastern Alaska.

PubMed

Albert, David M; Schoen, John W

2013-08-01

The forests of southeastern Alaska remain largely intact and contain a substantial proportion of Earth's remaining old-growth temperate rainforest. Nonetheless, industrial-scale logging has occurred since the 1950s within a relatively narrow range of forest types that has never been quantified at a regional scale. We analyzed historical patterns of logging from 1954 through 2004 and compared the relative rates of change among forest types, landform associations, and biogeographic provinces. We found a consistent pattern of disproportionate logging at multiple scales, including large-tree stands and landscapes with contiguous productive old-growth forests. The highest rates of change were among landform associations and biogeographic provinces that originally contained the largest concentrations of productive old growth (i.e., timber volume >46.6 m³/ha). Although only 11.9% of productive old-growth forests have been logged region wide, large-tree stands have been reduced by at least 28.1%, karst forests by 37%, and landscapes with the highest volume of contiguous old growth by 66.5%. Within some island biogeographic provinces, loss of rare forest types may place local viability of species dependent on old growth at risk of extirpation. Examination of historical patterns of change among ecological forest types can facilitate planning for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of forest resources. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

A comprehensive sulfur and oxygen isotope study of sulfur cycling in a shallow, hyper-euxinic meromictic lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilhooly, William P.; Reinhard, Christopher T.; Lyons, Timothy W.

2016-09-01

Mahoney Lake is a permanently anoxic and sulfidic (euxinic) lake that has a dense plate of purple sulfur bacteria positioned at mid-water depth (∼7 m) where free sulfide intercepts the photic zone. We analyzed the isotopic composition of sulfate (δ34SSO4 and δ18OSO4), sulfide (δ34SH2S), and the water (δ18OH2O) to track the potentially coupled processes of dissimilatory sulfate reduction and phototrophic sulfide oxidation within an aquatic environment with extremely high sulfide concentrations (>30 mM). Large isotopic offsets observed between sulfate and sulfide within the monimolimnion (δ34SSO4-H2S = 51‰) and within pore waters along the oxic margin (δ34SSO4-H2S > 50‰) are consistent with sulfate reduction in both the sediments and the anoxic water column. Given the high sulfide concentrations of the lake, sulfur disproportionation is likely inoperable or limited to a very narrow zone in the chemocline, and therefore the large instantaneous fractionations are best explained by the microbial process of sulfate reduction. Pyrite extracted from the sediments reflects the isotopic composition of water column sulfide, suggesting that pyrite buried in the euxinic depocenter of the lake formed in the water column. The offset between sulfate and dissolved sulfide decreases at the chemocline (δ34SSO4-H2S = 37‰), a trend possibly explained by elevated sulfate reduction rates and inconsistent with appreciable disproportionation within this interval. Water column sulfate exhibits a linear response in δ18OSO4-δ34SSO4 and the slope of this relationship suggests relatively high sulfate reduction rates that appear to respond to seasonal changes in the productivity of purple sulfur bacteria. Although photosynthetic activity within the microbial plate influences the δ18OSO4-δ34SSO4 relationship, the biosignature for photosynthetic sulfur bacteria is restricted to the oxic/anoxic transition zone and is apparently minor relative to the more prevalent process of sulfate reduction operative throughout the light-deprived deeper anoxic water column and sediment pore waters.

Variability in Migration Routes Influences Early Marine Survival of Juvenile Salmon Smolts

PubMed Central

Furey, Nathan B.; Vincent, Stephen P.; Hinch, Scott G.; Welch, David W.

2015-01-01

Variability in animal migratory behavior is expected to influence fitness, but few empirical examples demonstrating this relationship exist. The initial marine phase in the migration of juvenile salmon smolts has been identified as a potentially critical life history stage to overall population productivity, yet how fine-scale migration routes may influence survival are unknown. Large-scale acoustic telemetry studies have estimated survival rates of outmigrant Pacific salmon smolts through the Strait of Georgia (SOG) along the British Columbian coastline to the Pacific Ocean, but these data have not been used to identify and characterize fine-scale movements. Data collected on over 850 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts detected at an array in the Strait of Georgia in 2004–2008 and 2010–2013 were analyzed to characterize migration routes and link movements to subsequent survival at an array 250 km further along the marine migration pathway. Both species exhibited disproportionate use of the most eastern route in the Strait of Georgia (Malaspina Strait). While many smolts moved across the northern Strait of Georgia acoustic array with no indication of long-term milling or large-scale east-to-west movements, large proportions (20–40% of sockeye and 30–50% of steelhead) exhibited a different behavior, apparently moving in a westward or counterclockwise pattern. Variability in migratory behavior for both species was linked to subsequent survival through the Strait of Georgia. Survival for both species was influenced by initial east-to-west location, and sockeye were further influenced by migration timing and duration of time spent near the northern Strait of Georgia array. Westward movements result in a net transport of smolts from Malaspina Strait to the Strait of Georgia, particularly for steelhead. Counterclockwise movements may be due to the currents in this area during the time of outmigration, and the higher proportion of steelhead smolts exhibiting this counterclockwise behavior may reflect a greater exposure to wind-altered currents for the more surface-oriented steelhead. Our results provide an empirical example of how movements can affect migration survival, for which examples remain rare in movement ecology, confirming that variability in movements themselves are an important part of the migratory process. PMID:26451837

Outcome expectancy and self-efficacy: theoretical implications of an unresolved contradiction.

PubMed

Williams, David M

2010-11-01

According to self-efficacy theory, self-efficacy--defined as perceived capability to perform a behavior--causally influences expected outcomes of behavior, but not vice versa. However, research has shown that expected outcomes causally influence self-efficacy judgments, and some authors have argued that this relationship invalidates self-efficacy theory. Bandura has rebutted those arguments saying that self-efficacy judgments are not invalidated when influenced by expected outcomes. This article focuses on a contradiction in Bandura's rebuttal. Specifically, Bandura has argued (a) expected outcomes cannot causally influence self-efficacy, but (b) self-efficacy judgments remain valid when causally influenced by expected outcomes. While the debate regarding outcome expectancies and self-efficacy has subsided in recent years, the inattention to this contradiction has led to a disproportionate focus on self-efficacy as a causal determinant of behavior at the expense of expected outcomes.

Understanding the sociocultural context of coping for African American family members of homicide victims: a conceptual model.

PubMed

Sharpe, Tanya L

2015-01-01

The disproportionate representation of African American survivors of homicide victims places them at greater risk for compromised mental health. However, an examination of factors that influence how this population copes with this traumatic event is absent from the literature. This article elucidates the importance of sociocultural factors that influence coping resources and strategies for African Americans surviving the homicide of a loved one. A socioculturally responsive model of coping is presented that can be utilized in furthering the development of research and practice that is culturally responsive to the needs of African American survivors of homicide victims. © The Author(s) 2013.

Factors influencing ordering practices at Baltimore City carryouts: qualitative research to inform an obesity prevention intervention.

PubMed

Noormohamed, Aliya; Lee, Seung Hee; Batorsky, Benjamin; Jackson, Ashley; Newman, Sara; Gittelsohn, Joel

2012-01-01

Low-income African Americans bear a disproportionately high burden of chronic diseases associated with intakes of prepared foods, including those commonly found in carryout restaurants. This study collected formative data to investigate the main factors that influence ordering practices in carryout restaurants and to identify possible intervention strategies. Twenty in-depth interviews and two focus groups were conducted. From the perspectives of carryout customers and owners, the most salient factors affecting ordering practices were habit, price, taste, and food appearance. Study recommendations include manipulating prices and adding photographs of healthy items to carryout menus to encourage healthier ordering practices in carryout restaurants.

Scale effects between body size and limb design in quadrupedal mammals.

PubMed

Kilbourne, Brandon M; Hoffman, Louwrens C

2013-01-01

Recently the metabolic cost of swinging the limbs has been found to be much greater than previously thought, raising the possibility that limb rotational inertia influences the energetics of locomotion. Larger mammals have a lower mass-specific cost of transport than smaller mammals. The scaling of the mass-specific cost of transport is partly explained by decreasing stride frequency with increasing body size; however, it is unknown if limb rotational inertia also influences the mass-specific cost of transport. Limb length and inertial properties--limb mass, center of mass (COM) position, moment of inertia, radius of gyration, and natural frequency--were measured in 44 species of terrestrial mammals, spanning eight taxonomic orders. Limb length increases disproportionately with body mass via positive allometry (length ∝ body mass(0.40)); the positive allometry of limb length may help explain the scaling of the metabolic cost of transport. When scaled against body mass, forelimb inertial properties, apart from mass, scale with positive allometry. Fore- and hindlimb mass scale according to geometric similarity (limb mass ∝ body mass(1.0)), as do the remaining hindlimb inertial properties. The positive allometry of limb length is largely the result of absolute differences in limb inertial properties between mammalian subgroups. Though likely detrimental to locomotor costs in large mammals, scale effects in limb inertial properties appear to be concomitant with scale effects in sensorimotor control and locomotor ability in terrestrial mammals. Across mammals, the forelimb's potential for angular acceleration scales according to geometric similarity, whereas the hindlimb's potential for angular acceleration scales with positive allometry.

Scale Effects between Body Size and Limb Design in Quadrupedal Mammals

PubMed Central

Kilbourne, Brandon M.; Hoffman, Louwrens C.

2013-01-01

Recently the metabolic cost of swinging the limbs has been found to be much greater than previously thought, raising the possibility that limb rotational inertia influences the energetics of locomotion. Larger mammals have a lower mass-specific cost of transport than smaller mammals. The scaling of the mass-specific cost of transport is partly explained by decreasing stride frequency with increasing body size; however, it is unknown if limb rotational inertia also influences the mass-specific cost of transport. Limb length and inertial properties – limb mass, center of mass (COM) position, moment of inertia, radius of gyration, and natural frequency – were measured in 44 species of terrestrial mammals, spanning eight taxonomic orders. Limb length increases disproportionately with body mass via positive allometry (length ∝ body mass0.40); the positive allometry of limb length may help explain the scaling of the metabolic cost of transport. When scaled against body mass, forelimb inertial properties, apart from mass, scale with positive allometry. Fore- and hindlimb mass scale according to geometric similarity (limb mass ∝ body mass1.0), as do the remaining hindlimb inertial properties. The positive allometry of limb length is largely the result of absolute differences in limb inertial properties between mammalian subgroups. Though likely detrimental to locomotor costs in large mammals, scale effects in limb inertial properties appear to be concomitant with scale effects in sensorimotor control and locomotor ability in terrestrial mammals. Across mammals, the forelimb's potential for angular acceleration scales according to geometric similarity, whereas the hindlimb's potential for angular acceleration scales with positive allometry. PMID:24260117

Disproportionate Placement of Black and Hispanic Students in Special Education Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodale, Ronda; Soden, Marcia

The paper examines practices and procedures that are seen as contributory to disproportionate placement of Black and Hispanic students in special education programs and discusses various components of the Boston Public School's Remedial Plan. Practices and procedures critical in disproportionate placement are seen to include biased assessment,…

42 CFR 412.320 - Disproportionate share adjustment factor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Disproportionate share adjustment factor. 412.320... Capital-Related Costs § 412.320 Disproportionate share adjustment factor. (a) Criteria for classification... adjustment factor. (1) If a hospital meets the criteria in paragraph (a)(1) of this section for a...

The scaling of population persistence with carrying capacity does not asymptote in populations of a fish experiencing extreme climate variability.

PubMed

White, Richard S A; Wintle, Brendan A; McHugh, Peter A; Booker, Douglas J; McIntosh, Angus R

2017-06-14

Despite growing concerns regarding increasing frequency of extreme climate events and declining population sizes, the influence of environmental stochasticity on the relationship between population carrying capacity and time-to-extinction has received little empirical attention. While time-to-extinction increases exponentially with carrying capacity in constant environments, theoretical models suggest increasing environmental stochasticity causes asymptotic scaling, thus making minimum viable carrying capacity vastly uncertain in variable environments. Using empirical estimates of environmental stochasticity in fish metapopulations, we showed that increasing environmental stochasticity resulting from extreme droughts was insufficient to create asymptotic scaling of time-to-extinction with carrying capacity in local populations as predicted by theory. Local time-to-extinction increased with carrying capacity due to declining sensitivity to demographic stochasticity, and the slope of this relationship declined significantly as environmental stochasticity increased. However, recent 1 in 25 yr extreme droughts were insufficient to extirpate populations with large carrying capacity. Consequently, large populations may be more resilient to environmental stochasticity than previously thought. The lack of carrying capacity-related asymptotes in persistence under extreme climate variability reveals how small populations affected by habitat loss or overharvesting, may be disproportionately threatened by increases in extreme climate events with global warming. © 2017 The Author(s).

Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

them. Formal institutions remain largely unreformed and Western states probably must shoulder a disproportionate share of “global governance” as...might be in a better position but may still be fiscally constrained if its budgetary shortfalls and long-term debt problems remain unresolved...that undermine both the environment and investment. Reliance on domestic reserves of fossil fuels or long- term access to foreign fields makes

Women Reaching Women: Change in Action--Using Action Learning to Help Address Seemingly Intractable and Large Scale Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langley, Dawn; Watts, Richard

2010-01-01

In 2008, 28 women from the Women's Institute volunteered to join us in a project exploring the issue of world poverty and gender inequality, specifically highlighting the disproportionate effects of climate change on women. Collectively we were asking a big question about how we as individuals, based in England, make a difference on a global…

Hydrology and microtopography control carbon dynamics in wetlands: Implications in partitioning ecosystem respiration in a coastal plain forested wetland

Treesearch

Guofang Miao; Asko Noormets; Jean-Christophe Domec; Montserrat Fuentes; Carl C. Trettin; Ge Sun; Steve G. McNulty; John S. King

2017-01-01

Wetlands store a disproportionately large fraction of organic carbon relative to their areal coverage, and thus play an important role in global climate mitigation. As destabilization of these stores through land use or en- vironmental change represents a signi fi cant climate feedback, it is important to understand the functional regulation of respiratory processes...

Evaluation of Influence of Various Polymers on Dissolution and Phase Behavior of Carbamazepine-Succinic Acid Cocrystal in Matrix Tablets.

PubMed

Ullah, Majeed; Ullah, Hanif; Murtaza, Ghulam; Mahmood, Qaisar; Hussain, Izhar

2015-01-01

The aim of current study was to explore the influence of three commonly used polymers, that is, cellulosics and noncellulosics, for example, Methocel K4M, Kollidon VA/64, and Soluplus, on the phase disproportionation and drug release profile of carbamazepine-succinic acid (CBZ-SUC) cocrystal at varying drug to polymer ratios (1 : 1 to 1 : 0.25) in matrix tablets. The polymorphic phase disproportionation during in-depth dissolution studies of CBZ-SUC cocrystals and its crystalline properties were scrutinized by X-ray powder diffractrometry and Raman spectroscopy. The percent drug release from HPMC formulations (CSH) showed inverse relation with the concentration of polymer; that is, drug release increased with decrease in polymer concentration. On contrary, direct relation was observed between percent drug release and polymer concentrations of Kollidon VA 64/Soluplus (CSK, CSS). At similar polymer concentration, drug release from pure carbamazepine was slightly lower with HPMC formulations than that of cocrystal; however, opposite trend in release rate was observed with Kollidon VA/64 and Soluplus. The significant increase in dissolution rate of cocrystal occurred with Kollidon VA/64 and Soluplus at higher polymer concentration. Moreover, no phase change took place in Methocel and Kollidon formulations. No tablet residue was left for Soluplus formulation so the impact of polymer on cocrystal integrity cannot be predicted.

Evaluation of Influence of Various Polymers on Dissolution and Phase Behavior of Carbamazepine-Succinic Acid Cocrystal in Matrix Tablets

PubMed Central

Ullah, Majeed; Ullah, Hanif; Mahmood, Qaisar; Hussain, Izhar

2015-01-01

The aim of current study was to explore the influence of three commonly used polymers, that is, cellulosics and noncellulosics, for example, Methocel K4M, Kollidon VA/64, and Soluplus, on the phase disproportionation and drug release profile of carbamazepine-succinic acid (CBZ-SUC) cocrystal at varying drug to polymer ratios (1 : 1 to 1 : 0.25) in matrix tablets. The polymorphic phase disproportionation during in-depth dissolution studies of CBZ-SUC cocrystals and its crystalline properties were scrutinized by X-ray powder diffractrometry and Raman spectroscopy. The percent drug release from HPMC formulations (CSH) showed inverse relation with the concentration of polymer; that is, drug release increased with decrease in polymer concentration. On contrary, direct relation was observed between percent drug release and polymer concentrations of Kollidon VA 64/Soluplus (CSK, CSS). At similar polymer concentration, drug release from pure carbamazepine was slightly lower with HPMC formulations than that of cocrystal; however, opposite trend in release rate was observed with Kollidon VA/64 and Soluplus. The significant increase in dissolution rate of cocrystal occurred with Kollidon VA/64 and Soluplus at higher polymer concentration. Moreover, no phase change took place in Methocel and Kollidon formulations. No tablet residue was left for Soluplus formulation so the impact of polymer on cocrystal integrity cannot be predicted. PMID:26380301

Wetland Resiliency: How does multi-year water table level decline and recovery influence carbon dioxide and methane fluxes?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pugh, C.; Reed, D. E.; Desai, A. R.; Sulman, B. N.

2016-12-01

Wetlands play a disproportionately large role in the global carbon budget, and individual wetlands can fluctuate between carbon sinks and sources depending on factors such as hydrology, biogeochemistry, and land use. Although much research has been done on wetland biogeochemical cycles, there is a lack of experimental evidence concerning how changes in wetland hydrology influence these cycles over interannual timescales. Over a seven-year period, Sulman et al. (2009) found that a drought-induced declining water table at a shrub wetland in northern Wisconsin coincided with increased ecosystem respiration (ER) and gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) (Sulman et al. 2009). Since then, however, the average water table level at this site has begun to increase, thus allowing a unique opportunity to explore how wetland carbon storage is impacted by water table recovery. With the addition of three more years of eddy covariance observations post recovery and new methane flux observations, we found that water table level no longer had a significant correlation with GEP, ER, or methane flux. Air temperature, however, had a strong correlation with all three. Average methane flux stayed relatively constant under 14 °C, before increasing an order of magnitude from 3.7 nmol m-2 s-1 in April to 36 nmol m-2 s-1 in July. These results suggest that, over decadal timescales, temperature, rather than water level, is a stronger limiting factor for both aerobic and anaerobic respiration in shrub fen wetlands. Wetlands play a disproportionately large role in the global carbon budget, and individual wetlands can fluctuate between carbon sinks and sources depending on factors such as hydrology, biogeochemistry, and land use. Although much research has been done on wetland biogeochemical cycles, there is a lack of experimental evidence concerning how changes in wetland hydrology influence these cycles over interannual timescales. Over a seven-year period, Sulman et al. (2009) found that a drought-induced declining water table at a shrub wetland in northern Wisconsin coincided with increased ecosystem respiration (ER) and gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) (Sulman et al. 2009). Since then, however, the average water table level at this site has begun to increase, thus allowing a unique opportunity to explore how wetland carbon storage is impacted by water table recovery. With the addition of three more years of eddy covariance observations post recovery and new methane flux observations, we found that water table level no longer had a significant correlation with GEP, ER, or methane flux. Air temperature, however, had a strong correlation with all three. Average methane flux stayed relatively constant under 14 °C, before increasing an order of magnitude from 3.7 nmol m-2 s-1 in April to 36 nmol m-2 s-1 in July. These results suggest that, over decadal timescales, temperature, rather than water level, is a stronger limiting factor for both aerobic and anaerobic respiration in shrub fen wetlands.

Disproportionation of elemental sulfur by haloalkaliphilic bacteria from soda lakes.

PubMed

Poser, Alexander; Lohmayer, Regina; Vogt, Carsten; Knoeller, Kay; Planer-Friedrich, Britta; Sorokin, Dimitry; Richnow, Hans-H; Finster, Kai

2013-11-01

Microbial disproportionation of elemental sulfur to sulfide and sulfate is a poorly characterized part of the anoxic sulfur cycle. So far, only a few bacterial strains have been described that can couple this reaction to cell growth. Continuous removal of the produced sulfide, for instance by oxidation and/or precipitation with metal ions such as iron, is essential to keep the reaction exergonic. Hitherto, the process has exclusively been reported for neutrophilic anaerobic bacteria. Here, we report for the first time disproportionation of elemental sulfur by three pure cultures of haloalkaliphilic bacteria isolated from soda lakes: the Deltaproteobacteria Desulfurivibrio alkaliphilus and Desulfurivibrio sp. AMeS2, and a member of the Clostridia, Dethiobacter alkaliphilus. All cultures grew in saline media at pH 10 by sulfur disproportionation in the absence of metals as sulfide scavengers. Our data indicate that polysulfides are the dominant sulfur species under highly alkaline conditions and that they might be disproportionated. Furthermore, we report the first organism (Dt. alkaliphilus) from the class Clostridia that is able to grow by sulfur disproportionation.

English Reading Placement Recommendations at College of the Canyons: An Analysis of Disproportionate Impact.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerda, Joseph

A study was undertaken at California's College of the Canyons (CC) to determine whether evidence existed of disproportionate impact in English reading course placement based on student ethnicity, gender, or age. Data were compiled for all 4,312 students tested between spring 1993 and fall 1995, while the standard for disproportionate impact was…

Sex chromosomes and speciation in Drosophila

PubMed Central

Presgraves, Daven C.

2010-01-01

Two empirical rules suggest that sex chromosomes play a special role in speciation. The first is Haldane's rule— the preferential sterility and inviability of species hybrids of the heterogametic (XY) sex. The second is the disproportionately large effect of the X chromosome in genetic analyses of hybrid sterility. Whereas the causes of Haldane's rule are well established, the causes of the ‘large X-effect’ have remained controversial. New genetic analyses in Drosophila confirm that the X is a hotspot for hybrid male sterility factors, providing a proximate explanation for the large X-effect. Several other new findings— on faster X evolution, X chromosome meiotic drive, and the regulation of the X chromosome in the male-germline— provide plausible evolutionary explanations for the large X-effect. PMID:18514967

Management of fire regime, fuels, and fire effects in southern California chaparral: lessons from the past and thoughts for the future

Treesearch

Susan G. Conard; David R. Weise

1998-01-01

Chaparral is an intermediate fire-return interval (FRI) system, which typically bums with high-intensity crown fires. Although it covers only perhaps 10% of the state of California, and smaller areas in neighboring states, its importance in terms of fire management is disproportionately large, primarily because it occurs in the wildland-urban interface through much of...

Charitable Estate Planning and Subsequent Wealth Accumulation: Why Percentage Gifts May Be Worth More than We Thought

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Russell N., III

2010-01-01

Educational institutions receive a disproportionately large share of their gift income from estates. Charitable estate plans often donate a share of the total estate, rather than a specific dollar amount. The value of this type of planned gift depends not only on the value of the estate at the time the plan is signed, but also on the individual's…

An Alliance Built Upon Necessity: AQIM, Boko Haram, and the African Arch of Instability

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

of globalization and connectivity along with the advent of free trade, instant communication , internet usage, social media, and mass transportation...kidnappings, and mass suicide bombing attacks, Nigerian government security forces consequently use disproportionate large-scale security sweeps in those...Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE June 2013 3

Ten Years of Addressing Children’s Health through Regulatory Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

PubMed Central

Payne-Sturges, Devon; Kemp, Debra

2008-01-01

Background Executive Order (EO) 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, directs each federal agency to ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate environmental health and safety risks to children. Objectives We reviewed regulatory actions published by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Federal Register from April 1998 through December 2006 to evaluate applicability of EO 13045 to U.S. EPA actions and consideration of children’s health issues in U.S. EPA rulemakings. Discussion Although virtually all actions discussed EO 13045, fewer than two regulations per year, on average, were subject to the EO requirement to evaluate children’s environmental health risks. Nonetheless, U.S. EPA considered children’s environmental health in all actions addressing health or safety risks that may disproportionately affect children. Conclusion The EO does not apply to a broad enough set of regulatory actions to ensure protection of children’s health and safety risks, largely because of the small number of rules that are economically significant. However, given the large number of regulations that consider children’s health issues despite not being subject to the EO, other statutory requirements and agency policies reach a larger set of regulations to ensure protection of children’s environmental health. PMID:19079726

Asymmetric intergroup bullying: The enactment and maintenance of societal inequality at work.

PubMed

Soylu, Soydan; Sheehy-Skeffington, Jennifer

2015-07-01

What does inequality mean for dysfunctional organizational behaviours, such as workplace bullying? This article argues that workplace bullying can be understood as a manifestation of intergroup dynamics originating beyond the organization. We introduce the construct of asymmetric intergroup bullying: the disproportionate mistreatment of members of low status groups, with the intended effect of enhancing the subordination of that group in society at large. Analysis of data from 38 interviews with public and private sector workers in Turkey depicts a pattern of asymmetric intergroup bullying, undertaken to achieve organizational and broader sociopolitical goals. Respondents reported bullying acts used to get rid of unwanted personnel, with the goal of avoiding severance pay, or of removing supporters of the former government from positions of political and economic influence. Bullying was also described as working towards the dominance of the sociocultural worldview of one political group over another. We discuss asymmetric intergroup bullying as one mechanism through which acute intergroup hierarchy in the broader society corrupts management practice and employee interactions, in turn exacerbating economic inequality along group lines.

Asymmetric intergroup bullying: The enactment and maintenance of societal inequality at work

PubMed Central

Soylu, Soydan; Sheehy-Skeffington, Jennifer

2015-01-01

What does inequality mean for dysfunctional organizational behaviours, such as workplace bullying? This article argues that workplace bullying can be understood as a manifestation of intergroup dynamics originating beyond the organization. We introduce the construct of asymmetric intergroup bullying: the disproportionate mistreatment of members of low status groups, with the intended effect of enhancing the subordination of that group in society at large. Analysis of data from 38 interviews with public and private sector workers in Turkey depicts a pattern of asymmetric intergroup bullying, undertaken to achieve organizational and broader sociopolitical goals. Respondents reported bullying acts used to get rid of unwanted personnel, with the goal of avoiding severance pay, or of removing supporters of the former government from positions of political and economic influence. Bullying was also described as working towards the dominance of the sociocultural worldview of one political group over another. We discuss asymmetric intergroup bullying as one mechanism through which acute intergroup hierarchy in the broader society corrupts management practice and employee interactions, in turn exacerbating economic inequality along group lines. PMID:26819482

Homophobia and Communal Coping for HIV risk management among Gay Men in Relationships

PubMed Central

Stachowski, Courtney; Stephenson, Rob

2015-01-01

Men who have sex with men (MSM) remain disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in the US and estimates suggest that one to two-thirds of new infections occur among main partners. Previous research has focused on individual MSM and their risk for HIV, yet couples’ ability to manage risk has been largely understudied. In particular, the role that homophobia plays in shaping the ability of gay male couples to cope with HIV risk is currently under-studied. A sample of 447 gay/bisexual men with main partners was taken from a 2011 survey of gay and bisexual men in Atlanta. Linear regression models were fitted for three couples’ coping outcome scales (outcome efficacy, couple efficacy, communal coping) and included indicators of homophobia (internalized homophobia and homophobic discrimination). Findings indicate that reporting of increased levels of internalized homophobia were consistently associated with decreased outcome measures of couples’ coping ability regarding risk management. The results highlight the role that homophobia plays in gay male couples’ relationships and HIV risk, extending the existing literature in the field of same-sex relationships as influenced by homophobia. PMID:25614049

Population disparities in asthma.

PubMed

Gold, Diane R; Wright, Rosalind

2005-01-01

The prevalence of asthma in the United States is higher than in many other countries in the world. Asthma, the most common chronic disease of childhood in the United States, disproportionately burdens many socioeconomically disadvantaged urban communities. In this review we discuss hypotheses for between-country disparities in asthma prevalence, including differences in "hygiene" (e.g., family size, use of day care, early-life respiratory infection exposures, endotoxin and other farm-related exposures, microbial colonization of the infant bowel, exposure to parasites, and exposure to large domestic animal sources of allergen), diet, traffic pollution, and cigarette smoking. We present data on socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in asthma prevalence and morbidity in the United States and discuss environmental factors contributing to asthma disparities (e.g., housing conditions, indoor environmental exposures including allergens, traffic air pollution, disparities in treatment and access to care, and cigarette smoking). We discuss environmental influences on somatic growth (low birth weight, prematurity, and obesity) and their relevance to asthma disparities. The relevance of the hygiene hypothesis to the U.S. urban situation is reviewed. Finally, we discuss community-level factors contributing to asthma disparities.

An Illness of Power: Gender and the Social Causes of Depression.

PubMed

Neitzke, Alex B

2016-03-01

There is considerable discourse surrounding the disproportionate diagnosis of women with depression as compared to men, often times cited at a rate around 2:1. While this disparity clearly draws attention to gender, a focus on gender tends to fall away in the study and treatment of depression in neuroscience and psychiatry, which largely understand its workings in mechanistic terms of brain chemistry and neurological processes. I first consider how this brain-centered biological model for depression came about. I then argue that the authoritative scientific models for disorder have serious consequences for those diagnosed. Finally, I argue that mechanistic biological models of depression have the effect of silencing women and marginalizing or preventing the examination of social-structural causes of depression, like gender oppression, and therein contribute to the ideological reproduction of oppressive social relations. I argue that depression is best understood in terms of systems of power, including gender, and where a given individual is situated within such social relations. The result is a model of depression that accounts for the influence of biological, psychological, and social factors.

Homophobia and communal coping for HIV risk management among gay men in relationships.

PubMed

Stachowski, Courtney; Stephenson, Rob

2015-02-01

Men who have sex with men (MSM) remain disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in the US and estimates suggest that one to two-thirds of new infections occur among main partners. Previous research has focused on individual MSM and their risk for HIV, yet couples' ability to manage risk has been largely understudied. In particular, the role that homophobia plays in shaping the ability of gay male couples to cope with HIV risk is currently understudied. A sample of 447 gay/bisexual men with main partners was taken from a 2011 survey of gay and bisexual men in Atlanta. Linear regression models were fitted for three couples' coping outcome scales (outcome efficacy, couple efficacy, communal coping) and included indicators of homophobia (internalized homophobia and homophobic discrimination). Findings indicate that reporting of increased levels of internalized homophobia were consistently associated with decreased outcome measures of couples' coping ability regarding risk management. The results highlight the role that homophobia plays in gay male couples' relationships and HIV risk, extending the existing literature in the field of same-sex relationships as influenced by homophobia.

Are Blacks and Hispanics Disproportionately Incarcerated Relative to Their Arrests? Racial and Ethnic Disproportionality Between Arrest and Incarceration

PubMed Central

Steffensmeier, Darrell; Ulmer, Jeffrey T.; Painter-Davis, Noah

2014-01-01

Do large racial and ethnic disparities in prison populations reflect systematic racial and policy discrimination in the criminal justice system, or do they reflect disproportionate involvement of blacks and Hispanics in “serious” or street crime? Our investigation of this question keys off the approach initiated by Alfred Blumstein is his pioneering studies on the topic. While yielding important findings, there are, however, substantial gaps in the empirical literature on the racial disproportionality issue. We attempt to fill those gaps by (1) using both data on prison admission as well as in-stock prison populations, (2) presenting more recent racially and ethnically disaggregated arrest and incarceration data from Pennsylvania for 2003–2007, and (3) including Hispanic offenders in our racial and ethnic disproportionality comparisons. Our results indicate, first, that the representation of blacks, whites, and Hispanics among offenders admitted to state prison and in the prison population corresponds closely to their representation in arrest statistics. Second, using arrests as a marker of violent offending, the overrepresentation of blacks among offenders admitted to state prisons occurs because they commit a disproportionate number of frequently imprisoned (i.e., violent) crimes. Third, for those offenses where there is a within-race difference between arrest and incarceration representation, Hispanics experience the greatest disadvantage. Fourth, failing to account for Hispanics in white and black estimates tends to inflate white proportions and deflate black proportions of arrests, admissions, and prison population estimates, masking the “true” black and white racial disproportionality. We conclude that while there is a need for continued concern with possible racial discrimination in justice system processing, this concern should not distract attention from what arguably is the more important matter—ameliorating the social environmental conditions that foster disproportionate minority (especially black) involvement in violent crime. PMID:25067960

Ischemic Strokes Due to Large-Vessel Occlusions Contribute Disproportionately to Stroke-Related Dependence and Death: A Review.

PubMed

Malhotra, Konark; Gornbein, Jeffrey; Saver, Jeffrey L

2017-01-01

Since large-vessel occlusion (LVO)-related acute ischemic strokes (AIS) are associated with more severe deficits, we hypothesize that the endovascular thrombectomy (ET) may disproportionately benefit stroke-related dependence and death. To delineate LVO-AIS impact, systematic search identified studies measuring dependence or death [modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 3-6] or mortality following ischemic stroke among consecutive patients presenting with both LVO and non-LVO events within 24 h of symptom onset. Among 197 articles reviewed, 2 met inclusion criteria, collectively enrolling 1,467 patients. Rates of dependence or death (mRS 3-6) within 3-6 months were higher after LVO than non-LVO ischemic stroke, 64 vs. 24%, odds ratio (OR) 4.46 (CI: 3.53-5.63, p  < 0.0001). Mortality within 3-6 months was higher after LVO than non-LVO ischemic stroke, 26.2 vs. 1.3%, OR 4.09 (CI: 2.5-6.68), p  < 0.0001. Consequently, while LVO ischemic events accounted for 38.7% (CI: 21.8-55.7%) of all acutely presenting ischemic strokes, they accounted for 61.6% (CI: 41.8-81.3%) of poststroke dependence or death and 95.6% (CI: 89.0-98.8%) of poststroke mortality. Using literature-based projections of LVO cerebral ischemia patients treatable within 8 h of onset, ET can be used in 21.4% of acutely presenting patients with ischemic stroke, and these events account for 34% of poststroke dependence and death and 52.8% of poststroke mortality. LVOs cause a little more than one-third of acutely presenting AIS, but are responsible for three-fifths of dependency and more than nine-tenths of mortality after AIS. At the population level, ET has a disproportionate benefit in reducing severe stroke outcomes.

English Writing Placement Recommendations at College of the Canyons: An Analysis of Disproportionate Impact.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerda, Joseph

A study was undertaken at California's College of the Canyons (CoC) to determine whether evidence existed of disproportionate impact in English course placement based on student ethnicity, gender, or age. Data were compiled for all 4,309 students tested between spring 1993 and fall 1995, while the standard for disproportionate impact was taken…

2:1 Charge disproportionation in perovskite-structure oxide La{sub 1/3}Ca{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3} with unusually-high-valence Fe{sup 3.67+}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Haichuan; Hosaka, Yoshiteru; Seki, Hayato

La{sub 1/3}Ca{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3} with unusually-high-valence Fe{sup 3.67+} was synthesized at a high pressure and high temperature. The compound crystallizes in a √2a×2a×√2a perovskite cell in which the La and Ca ions at the A site are disordered. At 217 K the Fe{sup 3.67+} shows charge disproportionation to Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} in a ratio of 2:1, and this disproportionation is accompanied by transitions in magnetic and transport properties. The charge-disproportionated Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} are arranged along the <111> direction of the cubic perovskite cell. The local electronic and magnetic environments of Fe in La{sub 1/3}Ca{sub 2/3}FeO{submore » 3} are quite similar to those of Fe in La{sub 1/3}Sr{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3}, and the 2:1 charge disproportionation pattern of Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} in La{sub 1/3}Ca{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3} is also the same as that in La{sub 1/3}Sr{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3}. - Graphical abstract: The perovskite-structure oxide La{sub 1/3}Ca{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3} with unusually-high-valence Fe{sup 3.67+} shows charge disproportionation to Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} in a ratio of 2:1, and the charge-disproportionated Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} are arranged along the <111> direction of the cubic perovskite cell. - Highlights: • La{sub 1/3}Ca{sub 2/3}FeO{sub 3} with unusually-high-valence Fe{sup 3.67+} was synthesized at a high pressure and high temperature. • At 217 K the Fe{sup 3.67+} shows charge disproportionation (CD) to Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} in a ratio of 2:1. • The charge-disproportionated Fe{sup 3+} and Fe{sup 5+} are arranged along the <111> direction of the cubic perovskite cell. • The disproportionation is accompanied by transitions in magnetic and transport properties.« less

Where Carbon Goes When Water Flows: Carbon Cycling across the Aquatic Continuum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ward, Nicholas D.; Bianchi, Thomas S.; Medeiros, Patricia M.

The purpose of this review is to highlight progress in unraveling carbon cycling dynamics across the continuum of landscapes, inland waters, coastal oceans, and the atmosphere. Earth systems are intimately interconnected, yet most biogeochemical studies focus on specific components in isolation. The movement of water drives the carbon cycle, and, as such, inland waters provide a critical intersection between terrestrial and marine biospheres. Inland, estuarine, and coastal waters are well studied in regions near centers of human population in the Northern hemisphere. However, many of the world’s large river systems and their marine receiving waters remain poorly characterized, particularly inmore » the tropics, which contribute to a disproportionately large fraction of the transformation of terrestrial organic matter to carbon dioxide, and the Arctic, where positive feedback mechanisms are likely to amplify global climate change. There are large gaps in current coverage of environmental observations along the aquatic continuum. For example, tidally-influenced reaches of major rivers and near-shore coastal regions around river plumes are often left out of carbon budgets due to a combination of methodological constraints and poor data coverage. We suggest that closing these gaps could potentially alter global estimates of CO2 outgassing from surface waters to the atmosphere by several-fold. Finally, in order to identify and constrain/embrace uncertainties in global carbon budget estimations it is important that we further adopt statistical and modeling approaches that have become well-established in the fields of oceanography and paleoclimatology, for example.« less

Vocational education paths, youth activities, and underage drinking in Russia: How early does the trouble start?

PubMed

Lushin, Viktor; Jaccard, James; Ivaniushina, Valeria; Alexandrov, Daniel

2017-07-01

Working-class educational paths tend to be associated with elevated drinking. Little research has examined whether disproportionate alcohol use among vocationally oriented youth begins before or after the start of their vocational education. The present study analyzes a large sample of Russian middle-school students (N=1269; mean age=14.9), comparing the patterns of drinking among middle-schoolers oriented towards vocational educational, and their peers who do not plan a vocational education path. Results suggest that the orientation towards vocational education is associated with disproportionately high alcohol involvement among Russian middle-school students, even before they enter vocational schools. We studied if such difference could be partially explained by how youth orient towards extracurricular activities: discretionary peer time in risky contexts, reading for pleasure, working for pay, and religious activities. Reading demonstrated the strongest (negative) association with alcohol use, while religious activity unexpectedly revealed a positive (though weak) association with drinking. Research and policy implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sociostructural factors influencing health behaviors of urban African-American men.

PubMed

Plowden, Keith O; Young, Anthony E

2003-06-01

African-American men are suffering disproportionately from most illnesses. Seemingly, action is needed if health disparities that disproportionately affect African-American men as compared to their White and female counterparts are to be reduced or eliminated. An important step in decreasing common health disparities evidenced among African-American men is to understand social factors that act as motivators and barriers to seeking care for most of this vulnerable population. Following a constructionist epistemology, this study used ethnography to explore social structure factors that motivate urban African-American men to seek care. Leininger's Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory guided this study. Qualitative interviews were conducted with urban African-American men and other individuals in the community to explore understanding, attitudes, and beliefs about health. Critical issues examined included social factors associated with health seeking behaviors. Themes that emerged from these data indicated that critical social factors include: 1) Kinship/significant others; 2) accessibility of resources; 3) ethnohealth belief; and 4) accepting caring environment. The data also indicated a relationship between these social factors and health seeking behaviors of urban African-American men.

Youth exposure to alcohol advertising on radio--United States, June-August 2004.

PubMed

2006-09-01

In the United States, more underage youth drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or use illicit drugs. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to many adverse health and social consequences and results in approximately 4,500 deaths among underage youth each year. Recent studies have emphasized the contribution of alcohol marketing to underage drinking and have demonstrated that a substantial proportion of alcohol advertising appears in media for which the audience composition is youth-oriented (i.e., composed disproportionately of persons aged 12-20 years). To determine the proportion of radio advertisements that occurred on radio programs with audiences composed disproportionately of underage youth and the proportion of total youth exposure to alcohol advertising that occurs as a result of such advertising, researchers at the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, District of Columbia) evaluated the placement of individual radio advertisements for the most advertised U.S. alcohol brands and the composition of audiences in the largest 104 markets in the United States. This report summarizes the results of that study, which indicate that alcohol advertising is common on radio programs which have disproportionately large youth audiences and that this advertising accounts for a substantial proportion of all alcohol radio advertising heard by underage youth. These results further indicate that 1) the current voluntary standards limiting alcohol marketing to youth should be enforced and ultimately strengthened, and 2) ongoing monitoring of youth exposure to alcohol advertising should continue.

Animal migration amid shifting patterns of phenology and predation: lessons from a Yellowstone elk herd.

PubMed

Middleton, Arthur D; Kauffman, Matthew J; McWhirter, Douglas E; Cook, John G; Cook, Rachel C; Nelson, Abigail A; Jimenez, Michael D; Klaver, Robert W

2013-06-01

Migration is a striking behavioral strategy by which many animals enhance resource acquisition while reducing predation risk. Historically, the demographic benefits of such movements made migration common, but in many taxa the phenomenon is considered globally threatened. Here we describe a long-term decline in the productivity of elk (Cervus elaphus) that migrate through intact wilderness areas to protected summer ranges inside Yellowstone National Park, USA. We attribute this decline to a long-term reduction in the demographic benefits that ungulates typically gain from migration. Among migratory elk, we observed a 21-year, 70% reduction in recruitment and a 4-year, 19% depression in their pregnancy rate largely caused by infrequent reproduction of females that were young or lactating. In contrast, among resident elk, we have recently observed increasing recruitment and a high rate of pregnancy. Landscape-level changes in habitat quality and predation appear to be responsible for the declining productivity of Yellowstone migrants. From 1989 to 2009, migratory elk experienced an increasing rate and shorter duration of green-up coincident with warmer spring-summer temperatures and reduced spring precipitation, also consistent with observations of an unusually severe drought in the region. Migrants are also now exposed to four times as many grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) as resident elk. Both of these restored predators consume migratory elk calves at high rates in the Yellowstone wilderness but are maintained at low densities via lethal management and human disturbance in the year-round habitats of resident elk. Our findings suggest that large-carnivore recovery and drought, operating simultaneously along an elevation gradient, have disproportionately influenced the demography of migratory elk. Many migratory animals travel large geographic distances between their seasonal ranges. Changes in land use and climate that disparately influence such seasonal ranges may alter the ecological basis of migratory behavior, representing an important challenge for, and a powerful lens into, the ecology and conservation of migratory taxa.

Animal migration amid shifting patterns of phenology and predation: Lessons from a Yellowstone elk herd

USGS Publications Warehouse

Middleton, Arthur D.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; McWhirter, Douglas E.; Cook, John G.; Cook, Rachel C.; Nelson, Abigail A.; Jimenez, Michael D.; Klaver, Robert W.

2013-01-01

Migration is a striking behavioral strategy by which many animals enhance resource acquisition while reducing predation risk. Historically, the demographic benefits of such movements made migration common, but in many taxa the phenomenon is considered globally threatened. Here we describe a long-term decline in the productivity of elk (Cervus elaphus) that migrate through intact wilderness areas to protected summer ranges inside Yellowstone National Park, USA. We attribute this decline to a long-term reduction in the demographic benefits that ungulates typically gain from migration. Among migratory elk, we observed a 21-year, 70% reduction in recruitment and a 4-year, 19% depression in their pregnancy rate largely caused by infrequent reproduction of females that were young or lactating. In contrast, among resident elk, we have recently observed increasing recruitment and a high rate of pregnancy. Landscape-level changes in habitat quality and predation appear to be responsible for the declining productivity of Yellowstone migrants. From 1989 to 2009, migratory elk experienced an increasing rate and shorter duration of green-up coincident with warmer spring–summer temperatures and reduced spring precipitation, also consistent with observations of an unusually severe drought in the region. Migrants are also now exposed to four times as many grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) as resident elk. Both of these restored predators consume migratory elk calves at high rates in the Yellowstone wilderness but are maintained at low densities via lethal management and human disturbance in the year-round habitats of resident elk. Our findings suggest that large-carnivore recovery and drought, operating simultaneously along an elevation gradient, have disproportionately influenced the demography of migratory elk. Many migratory animals travel large geographic distances between their seasonal ranges. Changes in land use and climate that disparately influence such seasonal ranges may alter the ecological basis of migratory behavior, representing an important challenge for, and a powerful lens into, the ecology and conservation of migratory taxa.

Global warming may disproportionately affect larger adults in a predatory coral reef fish.

PubMed

Messmer, Vanessa; Pratchett, Morgan S; Hoey, Andrew S; Tobin, Andrew J; Coker, Darren J; Cooke, Steven J; Clark, Timothy D

2017-06-01

Global warming is expected to reduce body sizes of ectothermic animals. Although the underlying mechanisms of size reductions remain poorly understood, effects appear stronger at latitudinal extremes (poles and tropics) and in aquatic rather than terrestrial systems. To shed light on this phenomenon, we examined the size dependence of critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and aerobic metabolism in a commercially important tropical reef fish, the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) following acclimation to current-day (28.5 °C) vs. projected end-of-century (33 °C) summer temperatures for the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). CTmax declined from 38.3 to 37.5 °C with increasing body mass in adult fish (0.45-2.82 kg), indicating that larger individuals are more thermally sensitive than smaller conspecifics. This may be explained by a restricted capacity for large fish to increase mass-specific maximum metabolic rate (MMR) at 33 °C compared with 28.5 °C. Indeed, temperature influenced the relationship between metabolism and body mass (0.02-2.38 kg), whereby the scaling exponent for MMR increased from 0.74 ± 0.02 at 28.5 °C to 0.79 ± 0.01 at 33 °C, and the corresponding exponents for standard metabolic rate (SMR) were 0.75 ± 0.04 and 0.80 ± 0.03. The increase in metabolic scaling exponents at higher temperatures suggests that energy budgets may be disproportionately impacted in larger fish and contribute to reduced maximum adult size. Such climate-induced reductions in body size would have important ramifications for fisheries productivity, but are also likely to have knock-on effects for trophodynamics and functioning of ecosystems. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Household location choices: implications for biodiversity conservation.

PubMed

Peterson, M Nils; Chen, Xiaodong; Liu, Jianguo

2008-08-01

Successful conservation efforts require understanding human behaviors that directly affect biodiversity. Choice of household location represents an observable behavior that has direct effects on biodiversity conservation, but no one has examined the sociocultural predictors of this choice relative to its environmental impacts. We conducted a case study of the Teton Valley of Idaho and Wyoming (U.S.A.) that (1) explored relationships between sociodemographic variables, environmental attitudes, and the environmental impact of household location choices, (2) assessed the potential for small household sizes in natural areas to multiply the environmental impacts of household location decisions, and (3) evaluated how length of residency predicted the environmental attitudes of people living in natural areas. We collected sociodemographic data, spatial coordinates, and land-cover information in a survey of 416 households drawn from a random sample of Teton Valley residents (95% compliance rate). Immigrants (respondents not born in the study area) with the lowest education levels and least environmentally oriented attitudes lived in previously established residential areas in disproportionately high numbers, and older and more educated immigrants with the most environmentally oriented attitudes lived in natural areas in disproportionately high numbers. Income was not a significant predictor of household location decisions. Those living in natural areas had more environmental impact per person because of the location and because small households (<3 people/household) were 4 times as likely in natural areas as large households. Longer residency in natural areas predicted less environmentally oriented attitudes, suggesting that living in natural areas does not foster more concern for nature. Because populaces are rapidly aging, growing more educated, and potentially growing more environmentally oriented, these patterns are troubling for biodiversity conservation. Our results demonstrate a need for environmentalists to make household location decisions that reflect their environmental attitudes and future research to address how interactions between education level, environmental attitudes, population aging, and household location choices influence biodiversity conservation.

Impacts of fire smoke plumes on regional air quality, 2006-2013.

PubMed

Larsen, Alexandra E; Reich, Brian J; Ruminski, Mark; Rappold, Ana G

2017-12-29

Increases in the severity and frequency of large fires necessitate improved understanding of the influence of smoke on air quality and public health. The objective of this study is to estimate the effect of smoke from fires across the continental U.S. on regional air quality over an extended period of time. We use 2006-2013 data on ozone (O 3 ), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and PM 2.5 constituents from environmental monitoring sites to characterize regional air quality and satellite imagery data to identify plumes. Unhealthy levels of O 3 and PM 2.5 were, respectively, 3.3 and 2.5 times more likely to occur on plume days than on clear days. With a two-stage approach, we estimated the effect of plumes on pollutants, controlling for season, temperature, and within-site and between-site variability. Plumes were associated with an average increase of 2.6 p.p.b. (2.5, 2.7) in O 3 and 2.9 µg/m 3 (2.8, 3.0) in PM 2.5 nationwide, but the magnitude of effects varied by location. The largest impacts were observed across the southeast. High impacts on O 3 were also observed in densely populated urban areas at large distance from the fires throughout the southeast. Fire smoke substantially affects regional air quality and accounts for a disproportionate number of unhealthy days.

Sex differences in cardiovascular health: does sexism influence women's health?

PubMed

Molix, Lisa

2014-08-01

This commentary provides a brief overview of theory and research that supports the idea that sexism may be related to the disproportionate negative cardiovascular health outcomes in women. It describes sexism as a stressor and outlines its association with a variety of health outcomes as evidence for why sex disparities should be examined within the context of pervasive inequities. To date, population-based studies have not explicitly examined the relationship between sexism and cardiovascular disease, but smaller studies have yielded fairly consistent results. It is suggested that future research should aim to examine the influence of 2 types of sexism (ie, hostile and benevolent) and that daily or within-day designs be used to assess cognitive, behavioral and physiological responses to everyday sexist experiences.

Pericardial fat mimicking pericardial effusion on two-dimensional echocardiography.

PubMed

Kanna, Balavenkatesh; Osorio, Federico; Dharmarajan, Lekshmi

2006-05-01

A 78-year-old overweight woman with diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, and Sheehan's syndrome on chronic steroid therapy presented with mild short-lived hematemesis, significant hypotension disproportionate to the degree of bleeding and radiographic evidence of cardiomegaly. Endoscopy showed duodenal ulcer. During evaluation of the unexplained brief hypotension and cardiomegaly, 2D-echocardiogram demonstrated anterior and posterior echo-free spaces consistent with large pericardial effusion (PE). However, subsequent elective surgical pericardiotomy unexpectedly revealed large amounts of pericardial fat. Pericardial fat was also noted on magnetic resonance imaging of the chest. Our case illustrates a potential pitfall of 2D-echocardiography in the diagnosis of PE.

Improving timeliness and efficiency in the referral process for safety net providers: application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology.

PubMed

Deckard, Gloria J; Borkowski, Nancy; Diaz, Deisell; Sanchez, Carlos; Boisette, Serge A

2010-01-01

Designated primary care clinics largely serve low-income and uninsured patients who present a disproportionate number of chronic illnesses and face great difficulty in obtaining the medical care they need, particularly the access to specialty physicians. With limited capacity for providing specialty care, these primary care clinics generally refer patients to safety net hospitals' specialty ambulatory care clinics. A large public safety net health system successfully improved the effectiveness and efficiency of the specialty clinic referral process through application of Lean Six Sigma, an advanced process-improvement methodology and set of tools driven by statistics and engineering concepts.

The Great Recession and America’s Geography of Unemployment

PubMed Central

Thiede, Brian C.; Monnat, Shannon M.

2017-01-01

Background The Great Recession of 2007–2009 was the most severe and lengthy economic crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression. The impacts on the population were multi-dimensional, but operated largely through local labor markets. Objective To examine differences in recession-related changes in county unemployment rates and assess how population and place characteristics shaped these patterns. Methods We calculate and decompose Theil Indexes to describe recession-related changes in the distribution of unemployment rates between counties and states. We use exploratory spatial statistics to identify geographic clusters of counties that experienced similar changes in unemployment. We use spatial regression to evaluate associations between county-level recession impacts on unemployment and demographic composition, industrial structure, and state context. Results The recession was associated with increased inequality between county labor markets within states, but declining between-state differences. Counties that experienced disproportionate recession-related increases in unemployment were spatially clustered and characterized by large shares of historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic minority populations, low educational attainment, and heavy reliance on pro-cyclical industries. Associations between these sources of vulnerability were partially explained by unobserved state-level factors. Conclusions The local consequences of macroeconomic trends are associated with county population characteristics, as well as the structural contexts and policy environments in which they are embedded. The recession placed upward pressure on within-state inequality between local labor market conditions. Contribution To present new estimates of the recession’s impact on local labor markets, quantify how heterogeneous impacts affected the distribution of unemployment prevalence, and identify county characteristics associated with disproportionately large recession-related increases in unemployment. PMID:28663712

Women's health.

PubMed

Curlin, P; Tinker, A

1995-06-01

Although women live longer than men, new evidence indicates women bear a disproportionately heavy burden of disease. The effect of disease on economic productivity of women in developing countries has been largely ignored. Infections are often causes of disease in women, including those that affect reproductive health. Although men and women usually experience similar rates of many diseases, rates of exposure and treatment vary between men and women. If untreated, factors adversely affecting women's health in one stage compound women's ill health in succeeding stages.

Is precarious employment more damaging to women's health than men's?

PubMed

Menéndez, María; Benach, Joan; Muntaner, Carles; Amable, Marcelo; O'Campo, Patricia

2007-02-01

Current global economic trends in both developed and developing countries, including unregulated labor markets, trade competition and technological change, have greatly expanded a complex labor market situation characterised by many employees working under temporary work status, job insecurity, low social protection and low income level. Although the health of women is disproportionately affected by workplace flexibility, this has been largely ignored. The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to this relevant but neglected topic.

The purchase decision process and involvement of the elderly regarding nonprescription products.

PubMed

Reisenwitz, T H; Wimbish, G J

1997-01-01

The elderly or senior citizen is a large and growing market segment that purchases a disproportionate amount of health care products, particularly nonprescription products. This study attempts to examine the elderly's level of involvement (high versus low) and their purchase decision process regarding nonprescription or over-the-counter (OTC) products. Frequencies and percentages are calculated to indicate level of involvement as well as purchase decision behavior. Previous research is critiqued and managerial implications are discussed.

Role of tree size in moist tropical forest carbon cycling and water deficit responses.

PubMed

Meakem, Victoria; Tepley, Alan J; Gonzalez-Akre, Erika B; Herrmann, Valentine; Muller-Landau, Helene C; Wright, S Joseph; Hubbell, Stephen P; Condit, Richard; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J

2017-06-06

Drought disproportionately affects larger trees in tropical forests, but implications for forest composition and carbon (C) cycling in relation to dry season intensity remain poorly understood. In order to characterize how C cycling is shaped by tree size and drought adaptations and how these patterns relate to spatial and temporal variation in water deficit, we analyze data from three forest dynamics plots spanning a moisture gradient in Panama that have experienced El Niño droughts. At all sites, aboveground C cycle contributions peaked below 50-cm stem diameter, with stems ≥ 50 cm accounting for on average 59% of live aboveground biomass, 45% of woody productivity and 49% of woody mortality. The dominance of drought-avoidance strategies increased interactively with stem diameter and dry season intensity. Although size-related C cycle contributions did not vary systematically across the moisture gradient under nondrought conditions, woody mortality of larger trees was disproportionately elevated under El Niño drought stress. Thus, large (> 50 cm) stems, which strongly mediate but do not necessarily dominate C cycling, have drought adaptations that compensate for their more challenging hydraulic environment, particularly in drier climates. However, these adaptations do not fully buffer the effects of severe drought, and increased large tree mortality dominates ecosystem-level drought responses. © 2017 Smithsonian. Institute New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

[Disproportionately large communicating fourth ventricle--report of 2 cases].

PubMed

Matsumoto, M; Kushida, Y; Shibata, I; Seiki, Y; Terao, H

1983-11-01

A term of 'disproportionately large, communicating fourth ventricle' (DLCFV) was first proposed by in Harwood-Nash in 1980. It is somewhat different from the well known clinical entity of 'isolated or trapped fourth ventricle', because of apparent patency of aqueductal canal. Two cases of typical DLCFV encountered in our clinic were described. First patient was a 24 year old man in whom this condition developed following operations for lumber disc and second patient was 22 year old woman in whom the disease developed after subarachnoid hemorrhage. In both cases, main symptoms were attributable to hydrocephalus but three posterior fossa symptoms, nystagmus, Parinaud' sign and truncal ataxia were also characteristic. On the CT scan, the fourth ventricle was extraordinarily enlarged. Patency of the aqueductal canal was demonstrated by air study or Conray and Metrizamide ventriculography. On the other hand, occlusion was demonstrated or highly suspected in or near the foramina Magendie and Luschka. After a routine ventriculo-peritoneal shunt operation, the fourth ventricle decreased in size and the symptoms were immediately relieved. Plausible explanation for mechanism involved in occurrence of DLCFV were (1) occlusion process in or near the fourth ventricle outlets seems to be crucial in this pathologic condition. Collision of CSF pulse waves against the obstruction may yield a water hammer effect on the fourth ventricle. (2) abnormal weakness of the brain stem parenchyma around the fourth ventricle to CSF pressure may be another contributory factor.

A multilevel understanding of HIV/AIDS disease burden among African American women.

PubMed

Brawner, Bridgette M

2014-01-01

Disproportionate HIV/AIDS rates among African American women have been examined extensively, primarily from an individual-centered focus. Beyond individual behaviors, factors such as the hyperincarceration of African American men and geographically concentrated disadvantage may better explain inequitable disease burden. In this article I propose a conceptual model of individual, social, and structural factors that influence HIV transmission among African American women. The model can be used to develop comprehensive assessments and guide prevention programs in African American communities. © 2014 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Gender Disparities in Ocular Inflammatory Disorders*

PubMed Central

Sen, Hatice Nida; Davis, Janet; Ucar, Didar; Fox, Austin; Chan, Chi Chao; Goldstein, Debra A.

2014-01-01

Ocular inflammatory disorders disproportionately affect women, and the majority of affected women are of childbearing age. The role of sex or reproductive hormones has been proposed in many other inflammatory or autoimmune disorders, and findings from non-ocular autoimmune diseases suggest a complex interaction between sex hormones, genetic factors and the immune system. However, despite the age and sex bias, factors that influence this disparity are complicated and unclear. This review aims to evaluate the gender disparities in prevalence, incidence and severity of the most common infectious and non-infectious ocular inflammatory disorders. PMID:24987987

Genetic and environmental origins of health anxiety: a twin study

PubMed Central

TAYLOR, STEVEN; THORDARSON, DANA S; JANG, KERRY L; ASMUNDSON, GORDON J.G

2006-01-01

Excessive health anxiety - which is anxiety about one's health that is disproportionate to the person's medical status - is a common and often debilitating problem. Little is known about its etiology. The present study investigated the role of genetic and environmental factors using a classic twin study method. Results indicated that, after controlling for medical morbidity, environmental influences accounted for most of individual differences in health anxiety. These findings underscore the importance of psychosocial interventions, which have been shown to be among the most effective interventions for excessive health anxiety. PMID:16757996

The Silver Lining of Shame: Framing HPV to Influence Vaccination Intentions.

PubMed

Yang, Janet Z; Pittman, McKenzie M

2017-08-01

College students suffer disproportionately from human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that could result in genital warts or cancers in both males and females. Research contends that stigma and shame may serve as barriers to disclosure intentions, as well as vaccination intentions. The goal of this study was to examine whether two framing strategies-whether to mention that HPV is sexually transmitted and whether to highlight the cause of infection as internal or external-would influence young adults' intentions to disclose a potential diagnosis and their intentions to get the recommended HPV vaccine. Results indicate that STI framing and gender had consistent impacts on disclosure and vaccination intentions. Further, causal attribution framing also influenced participants' intention to get the vaccine at no cost immediately and their intention to get the vaccine at the retail price of $375 in the future. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

The influence of knowledge and sociodemographics on AIDS perception and sexual practices among secondary school students in Nigeria.

PubMed

Oyeyemi, Y A; Abdulkarim, A; Oyeyemi, B O

2011-08-01

Recent trends show a disproportionate increase in new incidences of HIV infection among teenagers compared to other population segments. This study assessed secondary school students' perception of AIDS epidemic, and the influence of sociodemographic variables and AIDS knowledge on their perception and sexual practices. Nigerian teenagers (N=1143) were surveyed using a questionnaire that elicited information on their demographics, AIDS knowledge, perceptions and previous encounter with survivors, and sexual practices. Although AIDS epidemic was not a serious issue of concern to a substantial number of the students, they were knowledgeable on AIDS, and their perceptions on AIDS epidemics influenced their sexual practices. Female teenagers were more knowledgeable and concerned, and more frequently reported inexperience with sexual intercourse compared to their male counterparts. AIDS education and campaigns that foster the internalization of the seriousness of AIDS epidemics and arouse concern about them could enhance safe sexual practices among the youths.

Weeds, as ancillary hosts, pose disproportionate risk for virulent pathogen transfer to crops.

PubMed

Linde, Celeste C; Smith, Leon M; Peakall, Rod

2016-05-12

The outcome of the arms race between hosts and pathogens depends heavily on the interactions between their genetic diversity, population size and transmission ability. Theory predicts that genetically diverse hosts will select for higher virulence and more diverse pathogens than hosts with low genetic diversity. Cultivated hosts typically have lower genetic diversity and thus small effective population sizes, but can potentially harbour large pathogen population sizes. On the other hand, hosts, such as weeds, which are genetically more diverse and thus have larger effective population sizes, usually harbour smaller pathogen population sizes. Large pathogen population sizes may lead to more opportunities for mutation and hence more diverse pathogens. Here we test the predictions that pathogen neutral genetic diversity will increase with large pathogen population sizes and host diversity, whereas diversity under selection will increase with host diversity. We assessed and compared the diversity of a fungal pathogen, Rhynchosporium commune, on weedy barley grass (which have a large effective population size) and cultivated barley (low genetic diversity) using microsatellites, effector locus nip1 diversity and pathogen aggressiveness in order to assess the importance of weeds in the evolution of the neutral and selected diversity of pathogens. The findings indicated that the large barley acreage and low host diversity maintains higher pathogen neutral genetic diversity and lower linkage disequilibrium, while the weed maintains more pathotypes and higher virulence diversity at nip1. Strong evidence for more pathogen migration from barley grass to barley suggests transmission of virulence from barley grass to barley is common. Pathogen census population size is a better predictor for neutral genetic diversity than host diversity. Despite maintaining a smaller pathogen census population size, barley grass acts as an important ancillary host to R. commune, harbouring highly virulent pathogen types capable of transmission to barley. Management of disease on crops must therefore include management of weedy ancillary hosts, which may harbour disproportionate supplies of virulent pathogen strains.

Shewanella oneidensis cytochrome c nitrite reductase (ccNiR) does not disproportionate hydroxylamine to ammonia and nitrite, despite a strongly favorable driving force.

PubMed

Youngblut, Matthew; Pauly, Daniel J; Stein, Natalia; Walters, Daniel; Conrad, John A; Moran, Graham R; Bennett, Brian; Pacheco, A Andrew

2014-04-08

Cytochrome c nitrite reductase (ccNiR) from Shewanella oneidensis, which catalyzes the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonia in vivo, was shown to oxidize hydroxylamine in the presence of large quantities of this substrate, yielding nitrite as the sole free nitrogenous product. UV-visible stopped-flow and rapid-freeze-quench electron paramagnetic resonance data, along with product analysis, showed that the equilibrium between hydroxylamine and nitrite is fairly rapidly established in the presence of high initial concentrations of hydroxylamine, despite said equilibrium lying far to the left. By contrast, reduction of hydroxylamine to ammonia did not occur, even though disproportionation of hydroxylamine to yield both nitrite and ammonia is strongly thermodynamically favored. This suggests a kinetic barrier to the ccNiR-catalyzed reduction of hydroxylamine to ammonia. A mechanism for hydroxylamine reduction is proposed in which the hydroxide group is first protonated and released as water, leaving what is formally an NH2(+) moiety bound at the heme active site. This species could be a metastable intermediate or a transition state but in either case would exist only if it were stabilized by the donation of electrons from the ccNiR heme pool into the empty nitrogen p orbital. In this scenario, ccNiR does not catalyze disproportionation because the electron-donating hydroxylamine does not poise the enzyme at a sufficiently low potential to stabilize the putative dehydrated hydroxylamine; presumably, a stronger reductant is required for this.

Surgical follow-up costs disproportionately impact low-income patients.

PubMed

Scott, Aaron R; Rush, Augustus J; Naik, Aanand D; Berger, David H; Suliburk, James W

2015-11-01

Surgical procedures have significant costs at the national level, but the financial burden on patients is equally important. Patients' out-of-pocket costs for surgery and surgical care include not only direct medical costs but also the indirect cost of lost wages and direct nonmedical costs including transportation and childcare. We hypothesized that the nonmedical costs of routine postoperative clinic visits disproportionately impact low-income patients. This was a cross-sectional study performed in the postoperative acute care surgery clinic at a large, urban county hospital. A survey containing items about social, demographic, and financial data was collected from ambulatory patients. Nonmedical costs were calculated as the sum of transportation, childcare, and lost wages. Costs and cost to income ratios were compared between income strata. Ninety-seven patients responded to the survey of which 59 reported all items needed for cost calculations. The median calculated cost of a clinic visit was $27 (interquartile range $18-59). Components of this cost were $16 ($14-$20) for travel, $22 ($17-$50) for childcare among patients requiring childcare, and $0 ($0-$30) in lost wages. Low-income patients had significantly higher (P = 0.0001) calculated cost to income ratios, spending nearly 10% of their monthly income on these costs. The financial burden of routine postoperative clinic visits is significant. Consistent with our hypothesis, the lowest income patients are disproportionately impacted, spending nearly 10% of their monthly income on costs associated with the clinic visit. Future cost-containment efforts should examine alternative, lower cost methods of follow-up, which reduce financial burden. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural and Kinetic Hydrogen Sorption Properties of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co Alloy Prepared by Ball Milling

PubMed Central

He, Hui; Tang, Tao; Huang, Zhiyong; Sang, Ge; Zhang, Guanghui; Ba, Jingwen; Liu, Meng

2018-01-01

The effects of ball milling on the hydrogen sorption kinetics and microstructure of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co have been systematically studied. Kinetic measurements show that the hydrogenation rate and amount of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co decrease with increasing the ball milling time. However, the dehydrogenation rate accelerates as the ball milling time increases. Meanwhile, the disproportionation of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co speeds up after ball milling and the disproportionation kinetics is clearly inclined to be linear with time at 500°C. It is found from X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results that the lattice parameter of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co gradually decreases from 3.164 Å to 3.153 Å when the ball milling time extends from 0 h to 8 h, which is mainly responsible for the hydrogen absorption/desorption behaviors. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrate that the morphology of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co has obviously changed after ball milling, which is closely related to the hydrogen absorption kinetics. Besides, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images show that a large number of disordered microstructures including amorphous regions and defects exist after ball milling, which also play an important role in hydrogen sorption performances. This work will provide some insights into the principles of how to further improve the hydrogen sorption kinetics and disproportionation property of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co. PMID:29721128

Contextualizing Embodied Resources in Global Food Trade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDonald, G. K.; Brauman, K. A.; Sun, S.; West, P. C.; Carlson, K. M.; Cassidy, E. S.; Gerber, J. S.; Ray, D. K.

2014-12-01

Trade in agricultural commodities has created increasingly complex linkages between resource use and food supplies across national borders. Understanding the degree to which food production and consumption relies on trade is vital to understanding how to sustainably meet growing food demands across scales. We use detailed bilateral trade statistics and data on agricultural management to examine the land use and water consumption embodied in agricultural trade, which we relate to basic nutritional indicators to show how trade contributes to food availability worldwide. Agricultural trade carries enough calories to provide >1.7 billion people a basic diet each year. We identify key commodities and producer-consumer relationships that disproportionately contribute to embodied resource use and flows of food nutrition at the global scale. For example, just 15 disproportionately large soybean trades comprised ~10% the total harvested area embodied in export production. We conclude by framing these results in terms of the fraction of each country's food production and consumption that is linked to international trade. These findings help to characterize how countries allocate resources to domestic versus foreign food demand.

Latino sexual and gender identity minorities promoting sexual health within their social networks: Process evaluation findings from a lay health advisor intervention

PubMed Central

Sun, Christina J.; García, Manuel; Mann, Lilli; Alonzo, Jorge; Eng, Eugenia; Rhodes, Scott D.

2015-01-01

The HOLA intervention was a lay health advisor intervention designed to reduce the disproportionate HIV burden borne by Latino sexual and gender identity minorities (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and transgender persons) living in the United States. Process evaluation data were collected for over a year of intervention implementation from 11 trained Latino male and transgender lay health advisors (Navegantes) to document the activities each Navegante conducted to promote condom use and HIV testing among his or her 8 social network members enrolled in the study. Over 13 months, the Navegantes reported conducting 1,820 activities. The most common activity was condom distribution. Navegantes had extensive reach beyond their enrolled social network members, and they engaged in health promotion activities beyond social network members enrolled in the study. There were significant differences between the types of activities conducted by Navegantes depending on who was present. Results suggest that lay health advisor interventions reach large number of at-risk community members and may benefit populations disproportionately impacted by HIV. PMID:25416309

Redox Disproportionation of Glucose as a Major Biosynthetic Energy Source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Arthur L.

1996-01-01

Previous studies have concluded that very little if any energy is required for the microbial biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids from glucose -- processes that yield almost as much ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as they consume. However, these studies did not establish the strength nor the nature of the energy source driving these biological transformations. To identify and estimate the strength of the energy source behind these processes, we calculated the free energy change due to the redox disproportionation of substrate carbon of (a) 26 redox-balanced fermentation reactions, and (b) the biosynthesis of amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides of E. coli from glucose. A plot of the negative free energy of these reactions per mmole of carbon as a function of the number of disproportionative electron transfers per mmol of carbon showed that the energy yields of these fermentations and biosyntheses were directly proportional to the degree of redox disproportionation of carbon. Since this linear relationship showed that redox disproportionation was the dominant energy source of these reactions, we were able to establish that amino acid and lipid biosynthesis obtained most of their energy from redox disproportionation (greater than 94%). In contrast nucleotide biosynthesis was not driven by redox disproportionation of carbon, and consequently depended completely on ATP for energy. This crucial and previously unrecognized role of sugars as an energy source of biosynthesis suggests that sugars were involved at the earliest stage in the origin of anabolic metabolism.

Alternatives for using multivariate regression to adjust prospective payment rates

PubMed Central

Sheingold, Steven H.

1990-01-01

Multivariate regression analysis has been used in structuring three of the adjustments to Medicare's prospective payment rates. Because the indirect-teaching adjustment, the disproportionate-share adjustment, and the adjustment for large cities are responsible for distributing approximately $3 billion in payments each year, the specification of regression models for these adjustments is of critical importance. In this article, the application of regression for adjusting Medicare's prospective rates is discussed, and the implications that differing specifications could have for these adjustments are demonstrated. PMID:10113271

Locking classical correlations in quantum States.

PubMed

DiVincenzo, David P; Horodecki, Michał; Leung, Debbie W; Smolin, John A; Terhal, Barbara M

2004-02-13

We show that there exist bipartite quantum states which contain a large locked classical correlation that is unlocked by a disproportionately small amount of classical communication. In particular, there are (2n+1)-qubit states for which a one-bit message doubles the optimal classical mutual information between measurement results on the subsystems, from n/2 bits to n bits. This phenomenon is impossible classically. However, states exhibiting this behavior need not be entangled. We study the range of states exhibiting this phenomenon and bound its magnitude.

Single-Ventricle Palliation in a 4-Year-Old With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

PubMed

DeBoard, Zach M; Eckhauser, Aaron W; Griffiths, Eric

2018-01-01

We report the case of a 4-year-old boy with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome undergoing single-ventricle palliation for an unbalanced atrioventricular canal defect. No reports of single-ventricle palliation in the setting of connective tissue disorders exist in the current literature. Unique findings on the patient's preoperative imaging included a disproportionately large neoaortic root and a regurgitant atrioventricular valve, which may foretell the need for future intervention. Copyright © 2018 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategies for Selecting Routes through Real-World Environments: Relative Topography, Initial Route Straightness, and Cardinal Direction

PubMed Central

Brunyé, Tad T.; Collier, Zachary A.; Cantelon, Julie; Holmes, Amanda; Wood, Matthew D.; Linkov, Igor; Taylor, Holly A.

2015-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated that route planners use several reliable strategies for selecting between alternate routes. Strategies include selecting straight rather than winding routes leaving an origin, selecting generally south- rather than north-going routes, and selecting routes that avoid traversal of complex topography. The contribution of this paper is characterizing the relative influence and potential interactions of these strategies. We also examine whether individual differences would predict any strategy reliance. Results showed evidence for independent and additive influences of all three strategies, with a strong influence of topography and initial segment straightness, and relatively weak influence of cardinal direction. Additively, routes were also disproportionately selected when they traversed relatively flat regions, had relatively straight initial segments, and went generally south rather than north. Two individual differences, extraversion and sense of direction, predicted the extent of some effects. Under real-world conditions navigators indeed consider a route’s initial straightness, cardinal direction, and topography, but these cues differ in relative influence and vary in their application across individuals. PMID:25992685

Spatial and thickness dependence of coupling interaction of surface states and influence on transport and optical properties of few-layer Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhongjun; Chen, Shi; Sun, Jiuyu; Li, Xingxing; Qiu, Huaili; Yang, Jinlong

2018-02-01

Coupling interaction between the bottom and top surface electronic states and the influence on transport and optical properties of Bi2Se3 thin films with 1-8 quintuple layers (QLs) have been investigated by first principles calculations. Obvious spatial and thickness dependences of coupling interaction are found by analyzing hybridization of two surface states. In the thin film with a certain thickness, from the outer to inner atomic layers, the coupling interaction exhibits an increasing trend. On the other hand, as thickness increases, the coupling interaction shows a disproportionate decrease trend. Moreover, the system with 3 QLs exhibits stronger interaction than that with 2 QLs. The presence of coupling interaction would suppress destructive interference of surface states and enhance resistance in various degrees. In view of the inversely proportional relation to transport channel width, the resistance of thin films should show disproportionate thickness dependence. This prediction is qualitatively consistent with the transport measurements at low temperature. Furthermore, the optical properties also exhibit obvious thickness dependence. Especially as the thickness increases, the coupling interaction results in red and blue shifts of the multiple-peak structures in low and high energy regions of imaginary dielectric function, respectively. The red shift trend is in agreement with the recent experimental observation and the blue shift is firstly predicted by the present calculation. The present results give a concrete understanding of transport and optical properties in devices based on Bi2Se3 thin films with few QLs.

Small vulnerable sets determine large network cascades in power grids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Yang; Nishikawa, Takashi; Motter, Adilson E.

The understanding of cascading failures in complex systems has been hindered by the lack of realistic large-scale modeling and analysis that can account for variable system conditions. By using the North American power grid, we identified, quantified, and analyzed the set of network components that are vulnerable to cascading failures under any out of multiple conditions. We show that the vulnerable set consists of a small but topologically central portion of the network and that large cascades are disproportionately more likely to be triggered by initial failures close to this set. These results elucidate aspects of the origins and causesmore » of cascading failures relevant for grid design and operation and demonstrate vulnerability analysis methods that are applicable to a wider class of cascade-prone networks.« less

Small vulnerable sets determine large network cascades in power grids

DOE PAGES

Yang, Yang; Nishikawa, Takashi; Motter, Adilson E.

2017-11-17

The understanding of cascading failures in complex systems has been hindered by the lack of realistic large-scale modeling and analysis that can account for variable system conditions. By using the North American power grid, we identified, quantified, and analyzed the set of network components that are vulnerable to cascading failures under any out of multiple conditions. We show that the vulnerable set consists of a small but topologically central portion of the network and that large cascades are disproportionately more likely to be triggered by initial failures close to this set. These results elucidate aspects of the origins and causesmore » of cascading failures relevant for grid design and operation and demonstrate vulnerability analysis methods that are applicable to a wider class of cascade-prone networks.« less

Impact of convection on stratospheric humidity and upper tropospheric clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueyama, R.; Schoeberl, M. R.; Jensen, E. J.; Pfister, L.; Avery, M. A.

2017-12-01

The role of convection on stratospheric water vapor and upper tropospheric cloud fraction is investigated using two sets of complementary transport and microphysical models driven by MERRA-2 and ERA-Interim meteorological analyses: (1) computationally efficient ensembles of forward trajectories with simplified cloud microphysics, and (2) one-dimensional simulations with detailed microphysics along back trajectories. Convective influence along the trajectories is diagnosed based on TRMM/GPM rainfall products and geostationary infrared satellite cloud-top measurements, with convective cloud-top height adjusted to match the CloudSat, CALIPSO, and CATS measurements. We evaluate and constrain the model results by comparison with satellite observations (e.g., Aura MLS, CALIPSO CALIOP) and high-altitude aircraft campaigns (e.g., ATTREX, POSIDON). Convection moistens the lower stratosphere by approximately 10-15% and increases the cloud fraction in the upper troposphere by 35-50%. Convective moistening is dominated by the saturating effect of parcels; convectively-lofted ice has a negligible impact on lower stratospheric humidity. We also find that the highest convective clouds have a disproportionately large impact on stratospheric water vapor because stratospheric relative humidity is low. Implications of these model results on the role of convection on present and future climate will be discussed.

The Chemistry of Beer Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Graham G.

2004-07-01

Compared to most other alcoholic beverages, beer is unique because it is unstable when in the final package. This instability can be divided into biological and nonbiological instability. Nonbiological stability of beer involves a wide range of chemical processes and can be considered in a number of categories: physical, flavor, light, foam, and gushing. It is the balance between flavanoid polyphenols (tannoids) and sensitive proteins that specifically combine with polyphenols to form haze that largely dictates physical stability. The flavor stability of beer primarily depends on the oxygen concentration of packaged beer but is influenced by all stages of the brewing process. Foam stability in a glass of beer reflects the quality of the beverage. The backbone of foam is hydrophobic polypeptides. Novel brewing processes such as high-gravity brewing result in a disproportionate loss of these polypeptides and have a negative effect on the foam stability of the resulting beer. Beer is light sensitive, especially in the 350 500 nm range. Beer exposed to this wavelength range in clear or green glass containers quickly develop nauseous skunky-like off-flavors resulting from the formation of 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. Methods of enhancing all of these types of beer stability are discussed.

Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging

PubMed Central

Bracis, Chloe; Gurarie, Eliezer; Van Moorter, Bram; Goodwin, R. Andrew

2015-01-01

An individual’s choices are shaped by its experience, a fundamental property of behavior important to understanding complex processes. Learning and memory are observed across many taxa and can drive behaviors, including foraging behavior. To explore the conditions under which memory provides an advantage, we present a continuous-space, continuous-time model of animal movement that incorporates learning and memory. Using simulation models, we evaluate the benefit memory provides across several types of landscapes with variable-quality resources and compare the memory model within a nested hierarchy of simpler models (behavioral switching and random walk). We find that memory almost always leads to improved foraging success, but that this effect is most marked in landscapes containing sparse, contiguous patches of high-value resources that regenerate relatively fast and are located in an otherwise devoid landscape. In these cases, there is a large payoff for finding a resource patch, due to size, value, or locational difficulty. While memory-informed search is difficult to differentiate from other factors using solely movement data, our results suggest that disproportionate spatial use of higher value areas, higher consumption rates, and consumption variability all point to memory influencing the movement direction of animals in certain ecosystems. PMID:26288228

Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging.

PubMed

Bracis, Chloe; Gurarie, Eliezer; Van Moorter, Bram; Goodwin, R Andrew

2015-01-01

An individual's choices are shaped by its experience, a fundamental property of behavior important to understanding complex processes. Learning and memory are observed across many taxa and can drive behaviors, including foraging behavior. To explore the conditions under which memory provides an advantage, we present a continuous-space, continuous-time model of animal movement that incorporates learning and memory. Using simulation models, we evaluate the benefit memory provides across several types of landscapes with variable-quality resources and compare the memory model within a nested hierarchy of simpler models (behavioral switching and random walk). We find that memory almost always leads to improved foraging success, but that this effect is most marked in landscapes containing sparse, contiguous patches of high-value resources that regenerate relatively fast and are located in an otherwise devoid landscape. In these cases, there is a large payoff for finding a resource patch, due to size, value, or locational difficulty. While memory-informed search is difficult to differentiate from other factors using solely movement data, our results suggest that disproportionate spatial use of higher value areas, higher consumption rates, and consumption variability all point to memory influencing the movement direction of animals in certain ecosystems.

Sulfur isotopes of organic matter preserved in 3.45-billion-year-old stromatolites reveal microbial metabolism

PubMed Central

Bontognali, Tomaso R. R.; Sessions, Alex L.; Allwood, Abigail C.; Fischer, Woodward W.; Grotzinger, John P.; Summons, Roger E.; Eiler, John M.

2012-01-01

The 3.45-billion-year-old Strelley Pool Formation of Western Australia preserves stromatolites that are considered among the oldest evidence for life on Earth. In places of exceptional preservation, these stromatolites contain laminae rich in organic carbon, interpreted as the fossil remains of ancient microbial mats. To better understand the biogeochemistry of these rocks, we performed microscale in situ sulfur isotope measurements of the preserved organic sulfur, including both Δ33S and . This approach allows us to tie physiological inference from isotope ratios directly to fossil biomass, providing a means to understand sulfur metabolism that is complimentary to, and independent from, inorganic proxies (e.g., pyrite). Δ33S values of the kerogen reveal mass-anomalous fractionations expected of the Archean sulfur cycle, whereas values show large fractionations at very small spatial scales, including values below -15‰. We interpret these isotopic patterns as recording the process of sulfurization of organic matter by H2S in heterogeneous mat pore-waters influenced by respiratory S metabolism. Positive Δ33S anomalies suggest that disproportionation of elemental sulfur would have been a prominent microbial process in these communities. PMID:22949693

Recent spectroscopic findings concerning clay/water interactions at low humidity: Possible applications to models of Martian surface reactivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyne, L.; Bishop, J.; Howard, L.; Scattergood, T. W.

1991-01-01

A feasibility study assessing the utility of the adaptation of near infrared correlation spectroscopy to quantifying iron and adsorbed water in some clay-based Mars soil analog materials (MarSAM's). The work was intended to constitute Phase 1 of an approach to identifying optical analytical wavelength regions, not only for important mineral classes, but for chemically active centers within them. Many of these centers are common to unrelated mineral classes and of disproportionate influence relative to the mineral structure as a whole in determining the surface reactivity of mineral surfaces. We previously reported linearity between reflectance and total iron and total moisture over a large range of both key variables. We also discovered interesting relationships between the intensity of iron bands and the relative humidity of the systems. These relationships were confirmed. We also show that, in the low humidity range, reflectance is linearly dependent on a different kind of water from that best representing the full humidity range (the kind of water associated, in clays, with surface acidity). These relationships and the sensitivity and capability of quantitation of near infrared data indicate high promise with the production of reactive surface intermediates of products of surface reactions.

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Health: Does Sexism Influence Women’s Health?

PubMed Central

Molix, Lisa

2014-01-01

This commentary provides a brief overview of theory and research that supports the idea that sexism may be related to the disproportionate negative cardiovascular health outcomes in women. It describes the sexism as a stressor and outlines its association with a variety of health outcomes as evidence for why sex disparities should be examined within the context of pervasive inequities. To date, population-based studies have not explicitly examined the relationship between sexism and CVD but smaller studies have yielded fairly consistent results. It is suggested that future research should aim to examine the influence of two types of sexism (i.e., hostile and benevolent) and that daily or within-day designs be employed to assess cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses to everyday sexist experiences. PMID:25054736

An Evolutionary Perspective on Family Studies: Differential Susceptibility to Environmental Influences.

PubMed

Hartman, Sarah; Belsky, Jay

2016-12-01

An evolutionary perspective of human development provides the basis for the differential-susceptibility hypothesis which stipulates that individuals should differ in their susceptibility to environmental influences, with some being more affected than others by both positive and negative developmental experiences and environmental exposures. This paper reviews evidence consistent with this claim while revealing that temperamental and genetic characteristics play a role in distinguishing more and less susceptible individuals. The differential-susceptibility framework under consideration is contrasted to the traditional diathesis-stress view that "vulnerability" traits predispose some to being disproportionately affected by (only) adverse experiences. We raise several issues stimulated by the literature that need to be clarified in further research. Lastly, we suggest that therapy may differ in its effects depending on an individual's susceptibility. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

Case Study: Microbial Ecology and Forensics of Chinese Drywall-Elemental Sulfur Disproportionation as Primary Generator of Hydrogen Sulfide.

PubMed

Tomei Torres, Francisco A

2017-06-21

Drywall manufactured in China released foul odors attributed to volatile sulfur compounds. These included hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and sulfur dioxide. Given that calcium sulfate is the main component of drywall, one would suspect bacterial reduction of sulfate to sulfide as the primary culprit. However, when the forensics, i.e., the microbial and chemical signatures left in the drywall, are studied, the evidence suggests that, rather than dissimilatory sulfate reduction, disproportionation of elemental sulfur to hydrogen sulfide and sulfate was actually the primary cause of the malodors. Forensic evidence suggests that the transformation of elemental sulfur went through several abiological and microbial stages: (1) partial volatilization of elemental sulfur during the manufacture of plaster of Paris, (2) partial abiotic disproportionation of elemental sulfur to sulfide and thiosulfate during the manufacture of drywall, (3) microbial disproportionation of elemental sulfur to sulfide and sulfate resulting in neutralization of all alkalinity, and acidification below pH 4, (4) acidophilic microbial disproportionation of elemental sulfur to sulfide and sulfuric acid, and (5) hydrogen sulfide volatilization, coating of copper fixtures resulting in corrosion, and oxidation to sulfur dioxide.

Perspectives of disproportionation driven superconductivity in strongly correlated 3d compounds.

PubMed

Moskvin, A S

2013-02-27

Disproportionation in 3d compounds can give rise to an unconventional electron-hole Bose liquid with a very rich phase diagram, from a Bose metal, to a charge ordering insulator and an inhomogeneous Bose-superfluid. Optimal conditions for disproportionation driven high-T(c) superconductivity are shown to be realized only for several Jahn-Teller d(n) configurations that permit the formation of well defined local composite bosons. These are the high-spin d(4), low-spin d(7), and d(9) configurations given the octahedral crystal field, and the d(1), high-spin d(6) configurations given the tetrahedral crystal field. The disproportionation reaction has a peculiar 'anti-Jahn-Teller' character lifting the bare orbital degeneracy. Superconductivity in the d(4) and d(6) systems at variance with d(1), d(7), and d(9) systems implies unavoidable coexistence of the spin-triplet composite bosons and the magnetic lattice. We argue that unconventional high-T(c) superconductivity, observed in quasi-2d cuprates with tetragonally distorted CuO(6) octahedra and iron-based layered pnictides/chalcogenides with tetrahedrally coordinated Fe(2+) ions presents a key argument to support the fact that the disproportionation scenario is at work in these compounds.

Economic effects of Ohio's smoke-free law on Kentucky and Ohio border counties.

PubMed

Pyles, Mark K; Hahn, Ellen J

2011-01-01

To determine if the Ohio statewide smoke-free law is associated with economic activity in Ohio or Kentucky counties that lie on the border between the two states. In November 2006, Ohio implemented a comprehensive statewide smoke-free law for all indoor workplaces. A feasible generalised least squares (FLGS) time series design to estimate the impact of the Ohio smoke-free law on Kentucky and Ohio border counties. Six Kentucky and six Ohio counties that lie on the border between the two states. All reporting hospitality and accommodation establishments in all Kentucky and Ohio counties including but not limited to food and drinking establishments, hotels and casinos. Total number of employees, total wages paid and number of reported establishments in all hospitality and accommodation services, 6 years before Ohio's law and 1 year after. There is no evidence of a disproportionate change in economic activity in Ohio or Kentucky border counties relative to their non-border counterparts. There was no evidence of a relation between Ohio's smoke-free law and economic activity in Kentucky border counties. The law generated a positive influence on wages and number of establishments in Ohio border counties. The null result cannot be explained by low test power, as minimum changes necessary in the dependent variables to detect a significant influence are very reasonable in size. Our data add to the large body of evidence that smoke-free laws are neutral with respect to the hospitality business across jurisdictions with and without laws.

Pharmacological approaches to the challenge of treatment-resistant depression

PubMed Central

Ionescu, Dawn F.; Rosenbaum, Jerrold F.; Alpert, Jonathan E.

2015-01-01

Although monoaminergic antidepressants revolutionized the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) over a half-century ago, approximately one third of depressed patients experience treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Such patients account for a disproportionately large burden of disease, as evidenced by increased disability, cost, human suffering, and suicide. This review addresses the definition, causes, evaluation, and treatment of unipolar TRD, as well as the major treatment strategies, including optimization, augmentation, combination, and switch therapies. Evidence for these options, as outlined in this review, is mainly focused on large-scale trials or meta-analyses. Finally, we briefly review emerging targets for antidepressant drug discovery and the novel effects of rapidly acting antidepressants, with a focus on ketamine. PMID:26246787

Medical home capabilities of primary care practices that serve sociodemographically vulnerable neighborhoods.

PubMed

Friedberg, Mark W; Coltin, Kathryn L; Safran, Dana Gelb; Dresser, Marguerite; Schneider, Eric C

2010-06-14

Under current medical home proposals, primary care practices using specific structural capabilities will receive enhanced payments. Some practices disproportionately serve sociodemographically vulnerable neighborhoods. If these practices lack medical home capabilities, their ineligibility for enhanced payments could worsen disparities in care. Via survey, 308 Massachusetts primary care practices reported their use of 13 structural capabilities commonly included in medical home proposals. Using geocoded US Census data, we constructed racial/ethnic minority and economic disadvantage indices to describe the neighborhood served by each practice. We compared the structural capabilities of "disproportionate-share" practices (those in the most sociodemographically vulnerable quintile on each index) and others. Racial/ethnic disproportionate-share practices were more likely than others to have staff assisting patient self-management (69% vs 55%; P = .003), on-site language interpreters (54% vs 26%; P < .001), multilingual clinicians (80% vs 51%; P < .001), and multifunctional electronic health records (48% vs 29%; P = .01). Similarly, economic disproportionate-share practices were more likely than others to have physician awareness of patient experience ratings (73% vs 65%; P = .03), on-site language interpreters (56% vs 25%; P < .001), multilingual clinicians (78% vs 51%; P < .001), and multifunctional electronic health records (40% vs 31%; P = .03). Disproportionate-share practices were larger than others. After adjustment for practice size, only language capabilities continued to have statistically significant relationships with disproportionate-share status. Contrary to expectations, primary care practices serving sociodemographically vulnerable neighborhoods were more likely than other practices to have structural capabilities commonly included in medical home proposals. Payments tied to these capabilities may aid practices serving vulnerable populations.

Evidentiality and suggestibility: a new research venue.

PubMed

Aydin, Cağla; Ceci, Stephen J

2009-01-01

Recent research suggests that acquisition of mental-state language may influence conceptual development. We examine this possibility by investigating the conceptual links between evidentiality in language and suggestibility. Young children are disproportionately suggestible and tend to change their reports or memories when questioned. The authors discuss the extent to which components of mental-state understanding, specifically representational understanding and understanding origins of knowledge, are implicated in improvements in resistance to suggestions and comprehending evidentiality. The authors also review social-psychological evidence that has implications for evidential understanding. Integration of the literature on both topics is followed by suggestions for new research directions.

A Systematic Review of Heavy Metals of Anthropogenic Origin in Environmental Media and Biota in the Context of Gold Mining in Ghana

PubMed Central

Armah, Frederick Ato; Quansah, Reginald; Luginaah, Isaac

2014-01-01

Heavy metal accumulation in the food chain is an issue of global concern because it eventually leads to toxic effects on humans through the water we drink, contaminated soils, crops, and animals. Reports of toxicant levels in environmental media (air, water, and soil) and biota in Ghana were sought in SCOPUS, PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. Of 1004 bibliographic records identified, 54 studies were included in evidence synthesis. A disproportionately large number of papers (about 80%) focused exclusively on environmental media. Papers focusing on biomonitoring and human health were relatively few. Studies reported a high degree of spatial variability for the concentrations of 8 metals in groundwater. Generally, heavy metal concentrations in soil reported by the studies reviewed were higher than metal concentrations in riverine sediments. Urine and hair were the most common biological markers of heavy metal exposure used by the studies reviewed unlike nails, which were sparingly used. By and large, published results on the levels of heavy metals in goldmine and non-mine workers yielded contradictory results. Mostly, concentrations of heavy metals reported by the studies reviewed for nails were higher than for hair. A high degree of variability in the heavy metal concentrations in human subjects in the studies reviewed is likely due to heterogeneity in physiological states, excretion profiles, and body burdens of individuals. These, in turn, may be a product of genetic polymorphisms influencing detoxification efficiency. PMID:27351015

Persistence of spilled oil on shores and its effects on biota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Irvine, G.V.; ,

2000-01-01

Over two million tonnes of oil are estimated to enter the world's oceans every year. A small percentage, but still a large volume, of this oil strands onshore, where its persistence is governed primarily by the action of physical forces. In some cases, biota influence the persistence of stranded oil or the rate of its weathering. Oil's deleterious effects on biota are frequently related to the persistence and degree of weathering of the oil, with long-lasting effects in low-energy environments such as salt marshes and coastal mangroves, or in higher-energy environments where oil is sequestered. However, an oil spill can have disproportionately large biological effects when it affects key species or processes (e.g., structurally important species, predators, prey, recruitment, or succession). In these cases, the continuing presence of oil is not always a prerequisite for continuing biological effects. There are relatively few long-term studies of the effects of oil spills; data from these suggest that oil can persist for decades in some environments or situations, and that biological effects can be equally persistent. Broad-based, integrated studies have been the most revealing in terms of the importance of direct and indirect effects, spillover effects between different parts of the environment, and continuing linkages between residual oil and biologic effects. Clean-up and treatment techniques applied to spilled or stranded oil can also have significant, long-lasting effects and need to be carefully evaluated prior to use.

Flood Pulse Influence on Export of Terrestrial Organic Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalzell, B. J.; Harbor, J. M.; Filley, T. R.

2004-12-01

While much attention has been placed on characterizing Terrestrial Organic Matter (TOM) export from large rivers, recent research has shown that in-stream processing of TOM in smaller streams and rivers over shorter time scales can be an important upland component of regional carbon budgets not detected at the outlets of large rivers. With predictions of climate change accompanied by more intense rainfall patterns in some areas, it is important to understand the linkage between flood events and watershed export of TOM. To this end, we have collected water samples from Big Pine Creek watershed, an 850km2 watershed located in west central Indiana. Organic carbon in dissolved, colloidal, and particulate size fractions has been described with molecular and stable carbon isotope techniques to track source, quantity, and compositional changes of TOM over changing flow conditions. Results from these samples show that flood conditions export dramatically more TOM; not only from increases in discharge, but also from increases in concentration of terrestrial organic carbon to all size fractions. While molecular biomarkers show increases in terrestrial organic matter, bulk stable carbon isotope values show that the sources of TOM do not remain constant. Rather, relative contributions from C4 plants (corn in this study area) increase during flood conditions by up to 40 percent. Finally, increases in rainfall intensity are likely to disproportionately increase organic carbon export from terrestrial systems, especially from smaller watersheds where short duration and high intensity flow events dominate annual discharge.

Stuck at the bottom rung: occupational characteristics of workers with disabilities.

PubMed

Kaye, H Stephen

2009-06-01

The proportion of workers reporting disabilities varies tremendously across occupations. Although differences in the occupational distributions may partly explain the large disparities in earnings and job security between workers with and without disabilities, little is known about the reasons that workers with disabilities are underrepresented in certain occupations and overrepresented in others. Using a large, national survey of the US population combined with official data on the skill and experience requirements and occupational risks of 269 occupations, a multilevel regression analysis was performed to identify occupational and individual factors that influence the representation of workers with disabilities across occupations. Models of overall, sensory, mobility, and cognitive disability were constructed for working-age labor force participants, as were models of overall disability for younger, in-between, and older workers. At the occupational level, reported disability is negatively associated with occupational requirements for information and communication skills and with the amount of prior work experience that is required, after controlling for individual factors such as age and educational attainment. Little relationship is found between disability status and a set of occupational risk factors. These findings generally hold true across disability types and age groups. Even after taking into account their lower average educational attainment, workers with disabilities appear to be disproportionately relegated to entry-level occupations that do not emphasize the better-remunerated job skills. Underemployment results in lower wages and less job security and stability. Possible reasons include employer discrimination, low expectations, deficits in relevant skills or experience, and work disincentives.

Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Recalled Exposure to and Self-Reported Impact of Tobacco Marketing and Promotions.

PubMed

Moran, Meghan Bridgid; Heley, Kathryn; Pierce, John P; Niaura, Ray; Strong, David; Abrams, David

2017-12-13

The role of tobacco marketing in tobacco use, particularly among the vulnerable ethnic and socioeconomic sub-populations is a regulatory priority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. There currently exist both ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the use of tobacco products. Monitoring such inequalities in exposure to tobacco marketing is essential to inform tobacco regulatory policy that may reduce known tobacco-related health disparities. We use data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Wave 1 youth survey to examine (1) recalled exposure to and liking of tobacco marketing for cigarettes, non-large cigars, and e-cigarettes, (2) self-reported exposure to specific tobacco marketing tactics, namely coupons, sweepstakes, and free samples, and (3) self-reported impact of tobacco marketing and promotions on product use. Findings indicate that African Americans and those of lower SES were more likely to recall having seen cigarette and non-large cigar ads. Reported exposure to coupons, sweepstakes and free samples also varied ethnically and socioeconomically. African Americans and those of lower SES were more likely than other respondents to report that marketing and promotions as played a role in their tobacco product use. Better understanding of communication inequalities and their influence on product use is needed to inform tobacco regulatory action that may reduce tobacco company efforts to target vulnerable groups. Tobacco education communication campaigns focusing on disproportionately affected groups could help counter the effects of targeted industry marketing.

NO2 disproportionation for the IR characterisation of basic zeolites.

PubMed

Marie, Olivier; Malicki, Nicolas; Pommier, Catherine; Massiani, Pascale; Vos, Ann; Schoonheydt, Robert; Geerlings, Paul; Henriques, Carlos; Thibault-Starzyk, Fréderic

2005-02-28

NO2 disproportionation on alkaline zeolites is used to generate nitrosonium (NO+) and nitrate ions on the surface, and the infrared vibrations observed are very sensitive to the cation chemical hardness and to the basicity of zeolitic oxygen atoms.

Identifying influential data points in hydrological model calibration and their impact on streamflow predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, David; Thyer, Mark; Westra, Seth

2015-04-01

Highly influential data points are those that have a disproportionately large impact on model performance, parameters and predictions. However, in current hydrological modelling practice the relative influence of individual data points on hydrological model calibration is not commonly evaluated. This presentation illustrates and evaluates several influence diagnostics tools that hydrological modellers can use to assess the relative influence of data. The feasibility and importance of including influence detection diagnostics as a standard tool in hydrological model calibration is discussed. Two classes of influence diagnostics are evaluated: (1) computationally demanding numerical "case deletion" diagnostics; and (2) computationally efficient analytical diagnostics, based on Cook's distance. These diagnostics are compared against hydrologically orientated diagnostics that describe changes in the model parameters (measured through the Mahalanobis distance), performance (objective function displacement) and predictions (mean and maximum streamflow). These influence diagnostics are applied to two case studies: a stage/discharge rating curve model, and a conceptual rainfall-runoff model (GR4J). Removing a single data point from the calibration resulted in differences to mean flow predictions of up to 6% for the rating curve model, and differences to mean and maximum flow predictions of up to 10% and 17%, respectively, for the hydrological model. When using the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency in calibration, the computationally cheaper Cook's distance metrics produce similar results to the case-deletion metrics at a fraction of the computational cost. However, Cooks distance is adapted from linear regression with inherit assumptions on the data and is therefore less flexible than case deletion. Influential point detection diagnostics show great potential to improve current hydrological modelling practices by identifying highly influential data points. The findings of this study establish the feasibility and importance of including influential point detection diagnostics as a standard tool in hydrological model calibration. They provide the hydrologist with important information on whether model calibration is susceptible to a small number of highly influent data points. This enables the hydrologist to make a more informed decision of whether to (1) remove/retain the calibration data; (2) adjust the calibration strategy and/or hydrological model to reduce the susceptibility of model predictions to a small number of influential observations.

Evapotranspiration sensitivity to air temperature across a snow-influenced watershed: Space-for-time substitution versus integrated watershed modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jepsen, S. M.; Harmon, T. C.; Ficklin, D. L.; Molotch, N. P.; Guan, B.

2018-01-01

Changes in long-term, montane actual evapotranspiration (ET) in response to climate change could impact future water supplies and forest species composition. For scenarios of atmospheric warming, predicted changes in long-term ET tend to differ between studies using space-for-time substitution (STS) models and integrated watershed models, and the influence of spatially varying factors on these differences is unclear. To examine this, we compared warming-induced (+2 to +6 °C) changes in ET simulated by an STS model and an integrated watershed model across zones of elevation, substrate available water capacity, and slope in the snow-influenced upper San Joaquin River watershed, Sierra Nevada, USA. We used the Soil Water and Assessment Tool (SWAT) for the watershed modeling and a Budyko-type relationship for the STS modeling. Spatially averaged increases in ET from the STS model increasingly surpassed those from the SWAT model in the higher elevation zones of the watershed, resulting in 2.3-2.6 times greater values from the STS model at the watershed scale. In sparse, deep colluvium or glacial soils on gentle slopes, the SWAT model produced ET increases exceeding those from the STS model. However, watershed areas associated with these conditions were too localized for SWAT to produce spatially averaged ET-gains comparable to the STS model. The SWAT model results nevertheless demonstrate that such soils on high-elevation, gentle slopes will form ET "hot spots" exhibiting disproportionately large increases in ET, and concomitant reductions in runoff yield, in response to warming. Predicted ET responses to warming from STS models and integrated watershed models may, in general, substantially differ (e.g., factor of 2-3) for snow-influenced watersheds exhibiting an elevational gradient in substrate water holding capacity and slope. Long-term water supplies in these settings may therefore be more resilient to warming than STS model predictions would suggest.

Perceived everyday racism, residential segregation, and HIV testing among patients at a sexually transmitted disease clinic.

PubMed

Ford, Chandra L; Daniel, Mark; Earp, Jo Anne L; Kaufman, Jay S; Golin, Carol E; Miller, William C

2009-04-01

More than one quarter of HIV-infected people are undiagnosed and therefore unaware of their HIV-positive status. Blacks are disproportionately infected. Although perceived racism influences their attitudes toward HIV prevention, how racism influences their behaviors is unknown. We sought to determine whether perceiving everyday racism and racial segregation influence Black HIV testing behavior. This was a clinic-based, multilevel study in a North Carolina city. Eligibility was limited to Blacks (N = 373) seeking sexually transmitted disease diagnosis or screening. We collected survey data, block group characteristics, and lab-confirmed HIV testing behavior. We estimated associations using logistic regression with generalized estimating equations. More than 90% of the sample perceived racism, which was associated with higher odds of HIV testing (odds ratio = 1.64; 95% confidence interval = 1.07, 2.52), after control for residential segregation, and other covariates. Neither patient satisfaction nor mechanisms for coping with stress explained the association. Perceiving everyday racism is not inherently detrimental. Perceived racism may improve odds of early detection of HIV infection in this high-risk population. How segregation influences HIV testing behavior warrants further research.

The Forest Canopy as a Temporally and Spatially Dynamic Ecosystem: Preliminary Results of Biomass Scaling and Habitat Use from a Case Study in Large Eastern White Pines (Pinus Strobus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, J.; Laughlin, M. M.; Olson, E.

2017-12-01

Canopy processes can be viewed at many scales and through many lenses. Fundamentally, we may wish to start by treating each canopy as a unique surface, an ecosystem unto itself. By doing so, we can may make some important observations that greatly influence our ability to scale canopies to landscape, regional and global scales. This work summarizes an ongoing endeavor to quantify various canopy level processes on individual old and large Eastern white pine trees (Pinus strobus). Our work shows that these canopies contain complex structures that vary with height and as the tree ages. This phenomenon complicates the allometric scaling of these large trees using standard methods, but detailed measurements from within the canopy provided a method to constrain scaling equations. We also quantified how these canopies change and respond to canopy disturbance, and documented disproportionate variation of growth compared to the lower stem as the trees develop. Additionally, the complex shape and surface area allow these canopies to act like ecosystems themselves; despite being relatively young and more commonplace when compared to the more notable canopies of the tropics and the Pacific Northwestern US. The white pines of these relatively simple, near boreal forests appear to house various species including many lichens. The lichen species can cover significant portions of the canopy surface area (which may be only 25 to 50 years old) and are a sizable source of potential nitrogen additions to the soils below, as well as a modulator to hydrologic cycles by holding significant amounts of precipitation. Lastly, the combined complex surface area and focused verticality offers important habitat to numerous animal species, some of which are quite surprising.

Social equity and environmental risk

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zimmerman, R.

1993-12-01

Social equity has become an important concern of the environmental movement over the past decade. The equity issue is analyzed here for practically all of the inactive hazardous waste disposal sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) regulated under the Comprehensive Response Compensation and Liability Act and its 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (CERCLA/SARA). Two dimensions of equity are emphasized, namely, site location relative to the location of minority population and the distribution of cleanup plans or Records of Decision (ROD) across communities with NPL sites that have different socioeconomic characteristics. With respect to site location, the percentage ofmore » Blacks and Hispanics aggregated at the Census Place or MCD level in communities with NPL sites was greater than is typical nationwide (largely attributable to the concentration of minority populations in a few large urban areas with NPL sites). The percentage of the population below the poverty line in communities with NPL sites largely matched that of the nation as a whole. With respect to site cleanup, communities with relatively higher percentages of racial minority population have fewer cleanup plans than other communities with NPL site. Whether a ROD exists is influenced by when the site was designated for the NPL: sites designated earlier are more likely to have RODs and less likely to have high proportions of racial minority populations than sites designated later. This implies that initially the designation process may have resulted in NPL sites being located disproportionately in minority areas, but this pattern seems to be reversing itself in more recently designated sites. Racial and ethnic disproportionalities with respect to inactive hazardous waste site location seem to be concentrated in a relatively few areas. 35 refs., 12 tabs.« less

76 FR 18995 - Pesticides; Regulation to Clarify Labeling of Pesticides for Export

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-06

... this proposed rule will not have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental... for all affected populations without having any disproportionately high and adverse human health or... Pesticides; Regulation to Clarify Labeling of Pesticides for Export AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency...

Minorities Are Disproportionately Underrepresented in Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Paul L.; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne M.; Mattison, Richard; Maczuga, Steve; Li, Hui; Cook, Michael

2015-01-01

We investigated whether minority children attending U.S. elementary and middle schools are disproportionately represented in special education. We did so using hazard modeling of multiyear longitudinal data and extensive covariate adjustment for potential child-, family-, and state-level confounds. Minority children were consistently less likely…

Affirmative Action in Medical Education: A Legal Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helms, Lelia B.; Helms, Charles M.

1998-01-01

Describes history of legal theory behind affirmative action, with examples from case law and Department of Education regulations, identifying legal pitfalls in admissions and financial aid, including categorization of students by race, racially disproportionate financial aid awards after accounting for need, racially disproportionate scholarship…

Interactional synchrony and the origins of infant-mother attachment: a replication study.

PubMed

Isabella, R A; Belsky, J

1991-04-01

This study sought to replicate previous work in testing the hypothesis that interactions of dyads developing secure attachment relationships would be characterized by disproportionately synchronous and those of dyads developing insecure relationships by disproportionately asynchronous exchanges. Additionally, a priori hypotheses were tested regarding expected differences in the interactional histories of dyads developing insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments. Results supported the study's predictions in all cases. Dyads developing secure attachments were observed at 3 and 9 months to interact in a disproportionately well-timed, reciprocal, and mutually rewarding manner; dyads developing insecure relationships were disproportionately characterized by interactions in which mothers were minimally involved, unresponsive to infant signals, or intrusive. Within the insecure group, as predicted, 3- and 9-month interactions of avoidant dyads were characterized by maternal intrusiveness and overstimulation; resistant dyads were characterized at both ages by poorly coordinated interactions in which mothers were underinvolved and inconsistent. These findings are discussed as they lend to a growing body of evidence concerning associations between differential interactional histories and attachment quality.

Demographics.

PubMed

Gillis, Artha J; Bath, Eraka

2016-01-01

There is a large proportion of minority youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) occurs when the proportion of any ethnic group is higher at any given stage in the juvenile justice process than the proportion of this group in the general population. There are several theories explaining the presence and persistence of DMC. This article reviews the history of DMC and the theories and implications of this problem. It discusses several targets for interventions designed to reduce DMC and offer resources in this area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The differential enlargement of the neurocranium in the full-term fetus.

PubMed

Jordaan, H V

1976-11-17

There is a wide range of variation in the cephalic index in the full-term fetus. The index rises as birth weight increases. The correlation between birth weight and the cephalic index is significant (r = 0,65) at the 0,05 level. Increasing neurocranial size is associated with differential growth of the dimensions which determine endocranial capacity. A higher cephalic index is achieved by a disproportionately large increase in the biparietal diameter relative to the occipitofrontal dimension. This results in a more globular neurocranial form.

Latino sexual and gender identity minorities promoting sexual health within their social networks: process evaluation findings from a lay health advisor intervention.

PubMed

Sun, Christina J; García, Manuel; Mann, Lilli; Alonzo, Jorge; Eng, Eugenia; Rhodes, Scott D

2015-05-01

The HOLA intervention was a lay health advisor intervention designed to reduce the disproportionate HIV burden borne by Latino sexual and gender identity minorities (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and transgender persons) living in the United States. Process evaluation data were collected for over a year of intervention implementation from 11 trained Latino male and transgender lay health advisors (Navegantes) to document the activities each Navegante conducted to promote condom use and HIV testing among his or her eight social network members enrolled in the study. Over 13 months, the Navegantes reported conducting 1,820 activities. The most common activity was condom distribution. Navegantes had extensive reach beyond their enrolled social network members, and they engaged in health promotion activities beyond social network members enrolled in the study. There were significant differences between the types of activities conducted by Navegantes depending on who was present. Results suggest that lay health advisor interventions reach large number of at-risk community members and may benefit populations disproportionately affected by HIV. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

The African Americanization of menthol cigarette use in the United States.

PubMed

Gardiner, Phillip S

2004-02-01

Today, over 70% of African American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes, compared with 30% of White smokers. This unique social phenomenon was principally occasioned by the tobacco industry's masterful manipulation of the burgeoning Black, urban, segregated, consumer market in the 1960s. Through the use of television and other advertising media, coupled with culturally tailored images and messages, the tobacco industry "African Americanized" menthol cigarettes. The tobacco industry successfully positioned mentholated products, especially Kool, as young, hip, new, and healthy. During the time that menthols were gaining a large market share in the African American community, the tobacco industry donated funds to African American organizations hoping to blunt the attack on their products. Many of the findings in this article are drawn from the tobacco industry documents disclosed following the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998. After a short review of the origins and growth of menthols, this article examines some key social factors that, when considered together, led to disproportionate use of mentholated cigarettes by African Americans compared with other Americans. Unfortunately, the long-term impact of the industry's practice in this community may be partly responsible for the disproportionately high tobacco-related disease and mortality among African Americans generally and African American males particularly.

Indirect medical education and disproportionate share adjustments to Medicare inpatient payment rates.

PubMed

Nguyen, Nguyen Xuan; Sheingold, Steven H

2011-11-04

The indirect medical education (IME) and disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustments to Medicare's prospective payment rates for inpatient services are generally intended to compensate hospitals for patient care costs related to teaching activities and care of low income populations. These adjustments were originally established based on the statistical relationships between IME and DSH and hospital costs. Due to a variety of policy considerations, the legislated levels of these adjustments may have deviated over time from these "empirically justified levels," or simply, "empirical levels." In this paper, we estimate the empirical levels of IME and DSH using 2006 hospital data and 2009 Medicare final payment rules. Our analyses suggest that the empirical level for IME would be much smaller than under current law-about one-third to one-half. Our analyses also support the DSH adjustment prescribed by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)--about one-quarter of the pre-ACA level. For IME, the estimates imply an increase in costs of 1.88% for each 10% increase in teaching intensity. For DSH, the estimates imply that costs would rise by 0.52% for each 10% increase in the low-income patient share for large urban hospitals. Public Domain.

Data processing in neutron protein crystallography using positron-sensitive detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoenborn, B. P.

Neutrons provide a unique probe for localizing hydrogen atoms and for distinguishing hydrogen from deuterons. Hydrogen atoms largely determine the three dimensional structure of proteins and are responsible for many catalytic reactions. The study of hydrogen bonding and hydrogen exchange will therefore give insight into reaction mechanisms and conformational fluctuations. In addition, neutrons provide the ability to distinguish N from C and O and to allow correct orientation of groups such as histidine and glutamine. To take advantage of these unique features of neutron crystallography, one needs accurate Fourier maps depicting atomic structure to a high precision. Special attention is given to subtraction of the high background associated with hydrogen containing molecules, which produces a disproportionately large statistical error.

Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery with a large patent ductus arteriosus: aversion of a catastrophe.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Sanjeev; Delius, Ralph E; Pettersen, Michael D

2013-01-01

We present an infant who had an anomalous left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) and a large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), who was diagnosed before a potentially catastrophic closure of PDA. In the presence of normal left ventricular function and the absence of coronary artery collaterals, it is difficult to diagnose ALCAPA. A disproportionate degree of left ventricular dilation and severity of mitral valve regurgitation relative to the degree of PDA shunt, and echogenic papillary muscles on an echocardiogram should raise a suspicion of coronary artery anomalies. The infant underwent surgical ligation of PDA with translocation of coronary arteries and had an uneventful recovery. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inequality decomposition and geographic targeting with applications to China and Vietnam.

PubMed

Wagstaff, Adam

2005-06-01

How far are income-related inequalities in the health sector due to gaps between poor and less poor areas, rather than due to differences between poor and less poor people within areas? This note sets out a method for answering this question, and illustrates it with two empirical examples. The disproportionate accrual of health subsidies to Vietnam's better-off is found to be largely due to the fact that richer provinces have larger per capita subsidies, while pro-rich inequalities in health insurance coverage in rural China are found to be largely due to the fact that better-off villages have been more successful at preventing the collapse of their insurance schemes. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reduced complexity modeling of Arctic delta dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piliouras, A.; Lauzon, R.; Rowland, J. C.

2017-12-01

How water and sediment are routed through deltas has important implications for our understanding of nutrient and sediment fluxes to the coastal ocean. These fluxes may be especially important in Arctic environments, because the Arctic ocean receives a disproportionately large amount of river discharge and high latitude regions are expected to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. The Arctic has some of the world's largest but least studied deltas. This lack of data is due to remote and hazardous conditions, sparse human populations, and limited remote sensing resources. In the absence of data, complex models may be of limited scientific utility in understanding Arctic delta dynamics. To overcome this challenge, we adapt the reduced complexity delta-building model DeltaRCM for Arctic environments to explore the influence of sea ice and permafrost on delta morphology and dynamics. We represent permafrost by increasing the threshold for sediment erosion, as permafrost has been found to increase cohesion and reduce channel migration rates. The presence of permafrost in the model results in the creation of more elongate channels, fewer active channels, and a rougher shoreline. We consider several effects of sea ice, including introducing friction which increases flow resistance, constriction of flow by landfast ice, and changes in effective water surface elevation. Flow constriction and increased friction from ice results in a rougher shoreline, more frequent channel switching, decreased channel migration rates, and enhanced deposition offshore of channel mouths. The reduced complexity nature of the model is ideal for generating a basic understanding of which processes unique to Arctic environments may have important effects on delta evolution, and it allows us to explore a variety of rules for incorporating those processes into the model to inform future Arctic delta modelling efforts. Finally, we plan to use the modeling results to determine how the presence of permafrost and sea ice may influence delta morphology and the resulting large-scale patterns of water and sediment fluxes at the coast.

Consequences of buffelgrass pasture development for primary productivity, perennial plant richness, and vegetation structure in the drylands of Sonora, Mexico.

PubMed

Franklin, Kimberly; Molina-Freaner, Francisco

2010-12-01

In large parts of northern Mexico native plant communities are being converted to non-native buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) pastures, and this conversion could fundamentally alter primary productivity and species richness. In Sonora, Mexico land conversion is occurring at a regional scale along a rainfall-driven gradient of primary productivity, across which native plant communities transition from desert scrub to thorn scrub. We used a paired sampling design to compare a satellite-derived index of primary productivity, richness of perennial plant species, and canopy-height profiles of native plant communities with buffelgrass pastures. We sampled species richness across a gradient of primary productivity in desert scrub and thorn scrub vegetation to examine the influence of site productivity on the outcomes of land conversion. We also examined the influence of pasture age on species richness of perennial plants. Index values of primary productivity were lower in buffelgrass pastures than in native vegetation, which suggests a reduction in primary productivity. Land conversion reduced species richness by approximately 50% at local and regional scales, reduced tree and shrub cover by 78%, and reduced canopy height. Land conversion disproportionately reduced shrub species richness, which reflects the common practice among Sonoran ranchers of conserving certain tree and cactus species. Site productivity did not affect the outcomes of land conversion. The age of a buffelgrass pasture was unrelated to species richness within the pasture, which suggests that passive recovery of species richness to preconversion levels is unlikely. Our findings demonstrate that land conversion can result in large losses of plant species richness at local and regional scales and in substantial changes to primary productivity and vegetation structure, which casts doubt on the feasibility of restoring native plant communities without active intervention on the part of land managers. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

The Metabolic World: Sugars as an Energized Carbon Substrate for Prebiotic and Biotic Synthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Arthur L.

1996-01-01

To understand the origin of metabolism and biopolymer synthesis we investigated the energy sources that drive anabolic metabolism. We found that biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids from sugars is driven bz the free energy of redox disproportionation of carbon (see discussion or next page). The indispensable role of sugar disproportionation in the biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids suggests that the origin of life uses the same chemical engine, and was therefore based on nonenzymatic redox disproportionation reactions of sugars that occurred in the presence o ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. The chemistry of this 'metabolic' model of the origin of life is described.

75 FR 51273 - Expanded Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing for Disproportionately Affected Populations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-19

...: Notice. Notice of Intent to increase funding available to make awards under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Funding Opportunity Announcement CDC-RFA-PS10-10138, ``Expanded Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing for Disproportionately Affected Populations''. Additional funding from the...

Lengthening of the duration of xylogenesis engenders disproportionate increases in xylem production.

PubMed

Rossi, Sergio; Girard, Marie-Josée; Morin, Hubert

2014-07-01

In cold climates, the expected global warming will lead to earlier cambial resumptions in spring, with a resultant lengthening of the growing season but unknown consequences on forest productivity. The phenological traits of cambium activity and xylem formation were analyzed at a short time scale along a thermal gradient represented by an alti-latitudinal range from the 48th to 53rd parallels and covering the whole closed black-spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP] forest in Quebec, Canada. A hypothesis was tested that warmer temperatures influence cambium phenology, allowing longer duration and higher intensity of growth, and resulting in proportionally increased xylem production. From April to October 2012, cell division in cambium and post-cambial differentiation of xylem were observed on anatomical sections obtained from microcores collected weekly from the stem of fifty trees. The southern and warmer site was characterized by the highest radial growth, which corresponded to both the highest rates and longest durations of cell production. The differences in terms of xylem phenology and growth were marginal between the other sites. Xylem growth was positively correlated with rate and duration of cell production, with the latter explaining most variability in growth. Within the range analyzed, the relationship between temperature and most phenological phases of xylogenesis was linear. On the contrary, temperature was related with cell production according to an exponential pattern. Periods of xylogenesis of 14 days longer (+13.1%) corresponded to a massive increase in cell production (33 cells, +109%). This disproportionate change occurred at a May-September average temperature of ca. 14 °C and a snow-free period of 210-235 days. At the lower boundary of the distribution of black spruce, small environmental changes allowing marginal lengthening of the period of cell division could potentially lead to disproportionate increases in xylem cell production, with substantial consequences for the productivity of this boreal species. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

26 CFR 1.305-3 - Disproportionate distributions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Disproportionate distributions. 1.305-3 Section 1.305-3 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX... filed with the Internal Revenue Service Center with which the income tax return was filed. (4) See § 1...

Disproportionate Classification of ESL Students in U.S. Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandez, Nicole; Inserra, Albert

2013-01-01

This study explores the possible causes behind the disproportionate percentages of English language learners (ELLs) classified into U.S. special education. Elementary school classroom teachers were examined, from school districts that exhibited growth in the percentage of English language learners with Individual Education Plans during 2007-2010.…

Implications of Climate Change for Children in Developing Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanna, Rema; Oliva, Paulina

2016-01-01

Climate change may be particularly dangerous for children in developing countries. Even today, many developing countries experience a disproportionate share of extreme weather, and they are predicted to suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change in the future. Moreover, developing countries often have limited social safety nets,…

Genome-Wide Association Study in African-Americans with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

Americans with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: John Harley, M.D., Ph.D...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Systemic lupus erythematosus ( lupus ) is a potentially deadly systemic autoimmune disease that disproportionately... Systemic lupus erythematosus ( lupus ) is a potentially deadly systemic autoimmune disease that disproportionately afflicts women and African

Belief in AIDS-Related Conspiracy Theories and Mistrust in the Government: Relationship With HIV Testing Among At-Risk Older Adults

PubMed Central

Ford, Chandra L.

2013-01-01

Purpose: One in 4 persons living with HIV/AIDS is an older adult (age 50 or older); unfortunately, older adults are disproportionately diagnosed in late stages of HIV disease. Psychological barriers, including belief in AIDS-related conspiracy theories (e.g., HIV was created to eliminate certain groups) and mistrust in the government, may influence whether adults undergo HIV testing. We examined relationships between these factors and recent HIV testing among at-risk, older adults. Design and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among older adults enrolled in a large venue–based study. None had a previous diagnosis of HIV/AIDS; all were seeking care at venues with high HIV prevalence. We used multiple logistic regression to estimate the associations between self-reported belief in AIDS-related conspiracy theories, mistrust in the government, and HIV testing performed within the past 12 months. Results: Among the 226 participants, 30% reported belief in AIDS conspiracy theories, 72% reported government mistrust, and 45% reported not undergoing HIV testing within the past 12 months. Belief in conspiracy theories was positively associated with recent HIV testing (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05–3.60), whereas mistrust in the government was negatively associated with testing (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.26–0.73). Implications: Psychological barriers are prevalent among at-risk older adults seeking services at venues with high HIV prevalences and may influence HIV testing. Identifying particular sources of misinformation and mistrust would appear useful for appropriate targeting of HIV testing strategies. PMID:23362210

Nutrient and algal responses to winterkilled fish-derived nutrient subsidies in eutrophic lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schoenebeck, Casey W.; Brown, Michael L.; Chipps, Steven R.; German, David R.

2012-01-01

Fishes inhabiting shallow, glacial lakes of the Prairie Pothole Region in the United States and Canada periodically experience hypoxia in severe winters that can lead to extensive fish mortality resulting in high biomasses of dead fish. However, the role of carcass-derived nutrient subsidies in shallow, eutrophic lakes translocated to pelagic primary producers is not well documented. This study quantified the influence of winterkill events on nutrient contributions from decaying fish carcasses of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and the phytoplankton response among pre- and postwinterkill years and compared seasonal patterns of nutrient limitation and phytoplankton community composition between winterkill and nonwinterkill lakes. We found that fish carcasses contributed an estimated 2.5–4.3 kg/ha of total (Kjeldahl) nitrogen (N) and 0.3–0.5 kg/ha of total phosphorus (P) to lakes that experienced winterkill conditions. Nutrient bioassays showed that winterkill lakes were primarily N limited, congruent with the low N:P ratios produced by fish carcasses corrected for the disproportionate release of N and P (8.6). Nutrient subsidies translocated from decomposed fish to pelagic primary producers seemed to have little immediate influence on the seasonal phytoplankton community composition, but total N and subsequent chlorophyll-a increased the year following the winterkill event. Cyanobacteria density varied seasonally but was higher in winterkill lakes, presumably due to the integration of nutrients released from fish decomposition. This study provides evidence that large inputs of autochthonous fish-derived nutrients contribute to nutrient availability within winterkilled systems and increase the maximum attainable biomass of the phytoplankton community.

Executive dysfunction affects word list recall performance: Evidence from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.

PubMed

Consonni, Monica; Rossi, Stefania; Cerami, Chiara; Marcone, Alessandra; Iannaccone, Sandro; Francesco Cappa, Stefano; Perani, Daniela

2017-03-01

The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is widely used in clinical practice to evaluate verbal episodic memory. While there is evidence that RAVLT performance can be influenced by executive dysfunction, the way executive disorders affect the serial position curve (SPC) has not been yet explored. To this aim, we analysed immediate and delayed recall performances of 13 non-demented amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with a specific mild executive dysfunction (ALSci) and compared their performances to those of 48 healthy controls (HC) and 13 cognitively normal patients with ALS. Moreover, to control for the impact of a severe dysexecutive syndrome and a genuine episodic memory deficit on the SPC, we enrolled 15 patients with a diagnosis of behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and 18 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Results documented that, compared to cognitively normal subjects, ALSci patients had a selective mid-list impairment for immediate recall scores. The bvFTD group obtained low performances with a selectively increased forgetting rate for terminal items, whereas the AD group showed a disproportionately large memory loss on the primary and middle part of the SPC for immediate recall scores and were severely impaired in the delayed recall trial. These results suggested that subtle executive dysfunctions might influence the recall of mid-list items, possibly reflecting deficiency in control strategies at retrieval of word lists, whereas severer dysexecutive syndrome might also affect the recall of terminal items possibly due to attention deficit or retroactive interference. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Asian Indian Views on Diet and Health in the United States

PubMed Central

Mukherjea, Arnab; Underwood, Kelsey Clark; Stewart, Anita L.; Ivey, Susan L.; Kanaya, Alka M.

2014-01-01

This study describes Asian Indian immigrant perspectives surrounding dietary beliefs and practices to identify intervention targets for diabetes and heart disease prevention. Participants were asked about conceptualizations of relationships between culture, food, and health during 4 focus groups (n = 38). Findings reveal influences of beliefs from respondents’ native India, preservation of cultural practices within the US social structure, conflicts with subsequent generations, and reinterpretation of health-related knowledge through a lens, hybridizing both “native” and “host” contexts. Galvanization of ethnically valued beliefs incorporating family and community structures is needed for multipronged approaches to reduce disproportionate burdens of disease among this understudied minority community. PMID:23986072

Humans and seasonal climate variability threaten large-bodied coral reef fish with small ranges.

PubMed

Mellin, C; Mouillot, D; Kulbicki, M; McClanahan, T R; Vigliola, L; Bradshaw, C J A; Brainard, R E; Chabanet, P; Edgar, G J; Fordham, D A; Friedlander, A M; Parravicini, V; Sequeira, A M M; Stuart-Smith, R D; Wantiez, L; Caley, M J

2016-02-03

Coral reefs are among the most species-rich and threatened ecosystems on Earth, yet the extent to which human stressors determine species occurrences, compared with biogeography or environmental conditions, remains largely unknown. With ever-increasing human-mediated disturbances on these ecosystems, an important question is not only how many species can inhabit local communities, but also which biological traits determine species that can persist (or not) above particular disturbance thresholds. Here we show that human pressure and seasonal climate variability are disproportionately and negatively associated with the occurrence of large-bodied and geographically small-ranging fishes within local coral reef communities. These species are 67% less likely to occur where human impact and temperature seasonality exceed critical thresholds, such as in the marine biodiversity hotspot: the Coral Triangle. Our results identify the most sensitive species and critical thresholds of human and climatic stressors, providing opportunity for targeted conservation intervention to prevent local extinctions.

Production of electronic grade lunar silicon by disproportionation of silicon difluoride

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agosto, William N.

1993-01-01

Waldron has proposed to extract lunar silicon by sodium reduction of sodium fluorosilicate derived from reacting sodium fluoride with lunar silicon tetrafluoride. Silicon tetrafluoride is obtained by the action of hydrofluoric acid on lunar silicates. While these reactions are well understood, the resulting lunar silicon is not likely to meet electronic specifications of 5 nines purity. Dale and Margrave have shown that silicon difluoride can be obtained by the action of silicon tetrafluoride on elemental silicon at elevated temperatures (1100-1200 C) and low pressures (1-2 torr). The resulting silicon difluoride will then spontaneously disproportionate into hyperpure silicon and silicon tetrafluoride in vacuum at approximately 400 C. On its own merits, silicon difluoride polymerizes into a tough waxy solid in the temperature range from liquid nitrogen to about 100 C. It is the silicon analog of teflon. Silicon difluoride ignites in moist air but is stable under lunar surface conditions and may prove to be a valuable industrial material that is largely lunar derived for lunar surface applications. The most effective driver for lunar industrialization may be the prospects for industrial space solar power systems in orbit or on the moon that are built with lunar materials. Such systems would require large quantities of electronic grade silicon or compound semiconductors for photovoltaics and electronic controls. Since silicon is the most abundant semimetal in the silicate portion of any solar system rock (approximately 20 wt percent), lunar silicon production is bound to be an important process in such a solar power project. The lunar silicon extraction process is discussed.

Early oxygenation of the terrestrial environment during the Mesoproterozoic.

PubMed

Parnell, John; Boyce, Adrian J; Mark, Darren; Bowden, Stephen; Spinks, Sam

2010-11-11

Geochemical data from ancient sedimentary successions provide evidence for the progressive evolution of Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Key stages in increasing oxygenation are postulated for the Palaeoproterozoic era (∼2.3 billion years ago, Gyr ago) and the late Proterozoic eon (about 0.8 Gyr ago), with the latter implicated in the subsequent metazoan evolutionary expansion. In support of this rise in oxygen concentrations, a large database shows a marked change in the bacterially mediated fractionation of seawater sulphate to sulphide of Δ(34)S < 25‰ before 1 Gyr to ≥50‰ after 0.64 Gyr. This change in Δ(34)S has been interpreted to represent the evolution from single-step bacterial sulphate reduction to a combination of bacterial sulphate reduction and sulphide oxidation, largely bacterially mediated. This evolution is seen as marking the rise in atmospheric oxygen concentrations and the evolution of non-photosynthetic sulphide-oxidizing bacteria. Here we report Δ(34)S values exceeding 50‰ from a terrestrial Mesoproterozoic (1.18 Gyr old) succession in Scotland, a time period that is at present poorly characterized. This level of fractionation implies disproportionation in the sulphur cycle, probably involving sulphide-oxidizing bacteria, that is not evident from Δ(34)S data in the marine record. Disproportionation in both red beds and lacustrine black shales at our study site suggests that the Mesoproterozoic terrestrial environment was sufficiently oxygenated to support a biota that was adapted to an oxygen-rich atmosphere, but had also penetrated into subsurface sediment.

The disproportionate high risk of HIV infection among the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Magadi, Monica A

2013-06-01

The link between HIV infection and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is rather complex and findings from previous studies remain inconsistent. While some argue that poverty increases vulnerability, existing empirical evidence largely support the view that wealthier men and women have higher prevalence of HIV. In this paper, we examine the association between HIV infection and urban poverty in SSA, paying particular attention to differences in risk factors of HIV infection between the urban poor and non-poor. The study is based on secondary analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Surveys from 20 countries in SSA, conducted during 2003-2008. We apply multilevel logistic regression models, allowing the urban poverty risk factor to vary across countries to establish the extent to which the observed patterns are generalizable across countries in the SSA region. The results reveal that the urban poor in SSA have significantly higher odds of HIV infection than their urban non-poor counterparts, despite poverty being associated with a significantly lower risk among rural residents. Furthermore, the gender disparity in HIV infection (i.e. the disproportionate higher risk among women) is amplified among the urban poor. The paper confirms that the public health consequence of urban poverty that has been well documented in previous studies with respect to maternal and child health outcomes does apply to the risk of HIV infection. The positive association between household wealth and HIV prevalence observed in previous studies largely reflects the situation in the rural areas where the majority of the SSA populations reside.

Historical Temperature Variability Affects Coral Response to Heat Stress

PubMed Central

Carilli, Jessica; Donner, Simon D.; Hartmann, Aaron C.

2012-01-01

Coral bleaching is the breakdown of symbiosis between coral animal hosts and their dinoflagellate algae symbionts in response to environmental stress. On large spatial scales, heat stress is the most common factor causing bleaching, which is predicted to increase in frequency and severity as the climate warms. There is evidence that the temperature threshold at which bleaching occurs varies with local environmental conditions and background climate conditions. We investigated the influence of past temperature variability on coral susceptibility to bleaching, using the natural gradient in peak temperature variability in the Gilbert Islands, Republic of Kiribati. The spatial pattern in skeletal growth rates and partial mortality scars found in massive Porites sp. across the central and northern islands suggests that corals subject to larger year-to-year fluctuations in maximum ocean temperature were more resistant to a 2004 warm-water event. In addition, a subsequent 2009 warm event had a disproportionately larger impact on those corals from the island with lower historical heat stress, as indicated by lower concentrations of triacylglycerol, a lipid utilized for energy, as well as thinner tissue in those corals. This study indicates that coral reefs in locations with more frequent warm events may be more resilient to future warming, and protection measures may be more effective in these regions. PMID:22479626

Study design to evaluate cognitive behavioral therapy among a diverse sample of adults with a first-time DUI offense.

PubMed

Chan Osilla, Karen; Watkins, Katherine E; Kulesza, Magdalena; Flórez, Karen; Lara-Greenberg, Marielena; Miles, Jeremy N V

2016-03-31

Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is a major public health concern, and many individuals continue to drink and drive even after being convicted of a DUI offense. Latinos, in particular, are disproportionately likely to be arrested for a DUI, have higher rates of recidivism, and are more likely to die in alcohol-related accidents than non-Latino Whites. Latinos also experience significant disparities in accessing alcohol-related treatment. This study protocol paper describes a randomized trial of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) compared to usual care in DUI programs for individuals with a first-time offense and at-risk drinking. We will utilize a two-group randomized design where individuals enrolled in a DUI program with a first-time conviction will be randomized to CBT (n = 150) or usual care (n = 150). Participants will be assessed at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and 6-months post-treatment. Recidivism data will be collected using administrative data within 2 years post-treatment. This project has the potential to benefit a large population of vulnerable individuals who are at risk of DUI recidivism. It also develops a new model of care by providing treatment in DUI programs to reduce disparities associated with poor treatment access. Trial registration NCT02588703.

The relationship between organizational leadership for safety and learning from patient safety events.

PubMed

Ginsburg, Liane R; Chuang, You-Ta; Berta, Whitney Blair; Norton, Peter G; Ng, Peggy; Tregunno, Deborah; Richardson, Julia

2010-06-01

To examine the relationship between organizational leadership for patient safety and five types of learning from patient safety events (PSEs). Forty-nine general acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. A nonexperimental design using cross-sectional surveys of hospital patient safety officers (PSOs) and patient care managers (PCMs). PSOs provided data on organization-level learning from (a) minor events, (b) moderate events, (c) major near misses, (d) major event analysis, and (e) major event dissemination/communication. PCMs provided data on organizational leadership (formal and informal) for patient safety. Hospitals were the unit of analysis. Seemingly unrelated regression was used to examine the influence of formal and informal leadership for safety on the five types of learning from PSEs. The interaction between leadership and hospital size was also examined. Formal organizational leadership for patient safety is an important predictor of learning from minor, moderate, and major near-miss events, and major event dissemination. This relationship is significantly stronger for small hospitals (<100 beds). We find support for the relationship between patient safety leadership and patient safety behaviors such as learning from safety events. Formal leadership support for safety is of particular importance in small organizations where the economic burden of safety programs is disproportionately large and formal leadership is closer to the front lines.

The American Quarter Horse: Population Structure and Relationship to the Thoroughbred

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

A breed known for its versatility, the American Quarter Horse (QH), is increasingly bred for performance in specific disciplines. The impact of selective breeding on the diversity and structure of the QH breed was evaluated using pedigree analysis and genome-wide SNP data from horses representing 6 performance groups (halter, western pleasure, reining, working cow, cutting, and racing). Genotype data (36 037 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) from 36 Thoroughbreds were also evaluated with those from the 132 performing QHs to evaluate the Thoroughbred’s influence on QH diversity. Results showed significant population structure among all QH performance groups excepting the comparison between the cutting and working cow horses; divergence was greatest between the cutting and racing QHs, the latter of which had a large contribution of Thoroughbred ancestry. Significant coancestry and the potential for inbreeding exist within performance groups, especially when considering the elite performers. Relatedness within performance groups is increasing with popular sires contributing disproportionate levels of variation to each discipline. Expected heterozygosity, inbreeding, F ST, cluster, and haplotype analyses suggest these QHs can be broadly classified into 3 categories: stock, racing, and pleasure/halter. Although the QH breed as a whole contains substantial genetic diversity, current breeding practices have resulted in this variation being sequestered into subpopulations. PMID:24293614

Racial Disparities in Preschool Special Education Eligibility for Five Southern States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrier, Michael J.; Gallagher, Peggy A.

2012-01-01

More than 67,000 preschoolers with disabilities across five states were examined for disproportionate special education eligibilities using risk ratios (RRs). Results indicated children classified as American Indian (RR = 2.25) and Black (RR = 1.64) were disproportionate in one state, whereas children classified as Asian, Hispanic, and White…

Addressing Inequity in Special Education: An Integrated Framework for Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sciuchetti, Maria B.

2017-01-01

Despite great strides toward equity and inclusion of all students, the disproportionate representation of students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds has been an issue of concern within the field of special education for decades. Of particular concern is the disproportionate representation of students from CLD backgrounds…

On the palladium-on-charcoal disproportionation of rosin

Treesearch

Zhan-Qian Song; Eugene Zavarin; Duane F. Zinkel

1985-01-01

Changes in the composition of gum rosin during disproportionation in the presence of 5% palladium-on-charcoal have been determined by gas chromatography. The principal reaction product was dehydroabietic acid. The exocyclic vinyl group of the pimaric/isopimarictype resin acids was hydrogenated completely. Only a small amount of dihydroabietic acids was formed. Eight...

Educational Lynching: Critical Race Theory and the Suspension of Black Boys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Macheo

2010-01-01

Looking at the disproportionate suspension of African American, Black male students through the lens of critical race theory, this presents arguments from a CRT how the disproportionate suspension of Black male students is rooted in white supremacy and racist policy in the United States. Local recommendations are offered for Oakland Unified School…

The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Disproportionate Impact on Vulnerable Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mallett, Christopher A.

2017-01-01

This conceptual article synthesizes the empirical research on punitive environmental norms of schools and the disproportionate effects on certain child and adolescent groups, particularly within urban schools. This involvement has come to be known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The young people affected by harsh school discipline protocols and…

75 FR 33708 - Ocean Dumping; Correction of Typographical Error in 2006 Federal Register Final Rule for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-15

... to allow material placed in the corner of the site closest to the jetty to continue augmentation... addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of... United States. EPA determined that this rule will not have disproportionately high and adverse human...

The transformation of inorganic sulfur compounds and the assimilation of organic and inorganic carbon by the sulfur disproportionating bacterium Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens.

PubMed

Frederiksen, Trine-Maria; Finster, Kai

2004-02-01

The physiology of the sulfur disproportionator Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens was investigated in batch cultures and in a pH-regulated continuously flushed fermentor system. It was shown that a sulphide scavanger in the form of ferric iron was not obligatory and that the control of pH allowed production of more biomass than was possible in carbonate buffered but unregulated batch cultures. Small amounts of sulphite were produced during disproportionation of elemental sulfur and thiosulphate. In addition, it was shown that in the presence of hydrogen, a respiratory type of process is favored before the disproportionation of sulphite, thiosulphate and elemental sulfur. Sulphate reduction was not observed. D. sulfoexigens assimilated inorganic carbon even in the presence of organic carbon sources. Inorganic carbon assimilation was probably catalyzed by the reverse CO-dehydrogenase pathway, which was supported by the constitutive expression of the gene encoding CO-dehydrogenase in cultures grown in the presence of acetate and by the high carbon fractionation values that are indicative of this pathway.

The Ontogeny of Gap Crossing Behaviour in Bornean Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii)

PubMed Central

Chappell, Jackie; Phillips, Abigail C.; van Noordwijk, Maria A.; Mitra Setia, Tatang; Thorpe, Susannah K. S.

2015-01-01

For orangutans, the largest predominantly arboreal primates, discontinuous canopy presents a particular challenge. The shortest gaps between trees lie between thin peripheral branches, which offer the least stability to large animals. The affordances of the forest canopy experienced by orangutans of different ages however, must vary substantially as adult males are an order of magnitude larger in size than infants during the early stages of locomotor independence. Orangutans have developed a diverse range of locomotor behaviour to cross gaps between trees, which vary in their physical and cognitive demands. The aims of this study were to examine the ontogeny of orangutan gap crossing behaviours and to determine which factors influence the distance orangutans crossed. A non-invasive photographic technique was used to quantify forearm length as a measure of body size. We also recorded locomotor behaviour, support use and the distance crossed between trees. Our results suggest that gap crossing varies with both physical and cognitive development. More complex locomotor behaviours, which utilized compliant trunks and lianas, were used to cross the largest gaps, but these peaked in frequency much earlier than expected, between the ages of 4 and 5 years old, which probably reflects play behaviour to perfect locomotor techniques. Smaller individuals also crossed disproportionately large gaps relative to their size, by using support deformation. Our results suggest that orangutans acquire the full repertoire of gap crossing techniques, including the more cognitively demanding ones, before weaning, but adjust the frequency of the use of these techniques to their increasing body size. PMID:26154061

The Ontogeny of Gap Crossing Behaviour in Bornean Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii).

PubMed

Chappell, Jackie; Phillips, Abigail C; van Noordwijk, Maria A; Mitra Setia, Tatang; Thorpe, Susannah K S

2015-01-01

For orangutans, the largest predominantly arboreal primates, discontinuous canopy presents a particular challenge. The shortest gaps between trees lie between thin peripheral branches, which offer the least stability to large animals. The affordances of the forest canopy experienced by orangutans of different ages however, must vary substantially as adult males are an order of magnitude larger in size than infants during the early stages of locomotor independence. Orangutans have developed a diverse range of locomotor behaviour to cross gaps between trees, which vary in their physical and cognitive demands. The aims of this study were to examine the ontogeny of orangutan gap crossing behaviours and to determine which factors influence the distance orangutans crossed. A non-invasive photographic technique was used to quantify forearm length as a measure of body size. We also recorded locomotor behaviour, support use and the distance crossed between trees. Our results suggest that gap crossing varies with both physical and cognitive development. More complex locomotor behaviours, which utilized compliant trunks and lianas, were used to cross the largest gaps, but these peaked in frequency much earlier than expected, between the ages of 4 and 5 years old, which probably reflects play behaviour to perfect locomotor techniques. Smaller individuals also crossed disproportionately large gaps relative to their size, by using support deformation. Our results suggest that orangutans acquire the full repertoire of gap crossing techniques, including the more cognitively demanding ones, before weaning, but adjust the frequency of the use of these techniques to their increasing body size.

Associations between Common Variants in Iron-Related Genes with Haematological Traits in Populations of African Ancestry.

PubMed

Gichohi-Wainaina, Wanjiku N; Tanaka, Toshiko; Towers, G Wayne; Verhoef, Hans; Veenemans, Jacobien; Talsma, Elise F; Harryvan, Jan; Boekschoten, Mark V; Feskens, Edith J; Melse-Boonstra, Alida

2016-01-01

Large genome-wide association (GWA) studies of European ancestry individuals have identified multiple genetic variants influencing iron status. Studies on the generalizability of these associations to African ancestry populations have been limited. These studies are important given interethnic differences in iron status and the disproportionate burden of iron deficiency among African ancestry populations. We tested the associations of 20 previously identified iron status-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 628 Kenyans, 609 Tanzanians, 608 South Africans and 228 African Americans. In each study, we examined the associations present between 20 SNPs with ferritin and haemoglobin, adjusting for age, sex and CRP levels. In the meta analysis including all 4 African ancestry cohorts, we replicated previously reported associations with lowered haemoglobin concentrations for rs2413450 (β = -0.19, P = 0.02) and rs4820268 (β = -0.16, P = 0.04) in TMPRSS6. An association with increased ferritin concentrations was also confirmed for rs1867504 in TF (β = 1.04, P = <0.0001) in the meta analysis including the African cohorts only. In all meta analyses, we only replicated 4 of the 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms reported to be associated with iron status in large GWA studies of European ancestry individuals. While there is now evidence for the associations of a number of genetic variants with iron status in both European and African ancestry populations, the considerable lack of concordance highlights the importance of continued ancestry-specific studies to elucidate the genetic underpinnings of iron status in ethnically diverse populations.

Associations between Common Variants in Iron-Related Genes with Haematological Traits in Populations of African Ancestry

PubMed Central

Tanaka, Toshiko; Towers, G. Wayne; Verhoef, Hans; Veenemans, Jacobien; Talsma, Elise F.; Harryvan, Jan; Boekschoten, Mark V.; Feskens, Edith J.; Melse-Boonstra, Alida

2016-01-01

Background Large genome-wide association (GWA) studies of European ancestry individuals have identified multiple genetic variants influencing iron status. Studies on the generalizability of these associations to African ancestry populations have been limited. These studies are important given interethnic differences in iron status and the disproportionate burden of iron deficiency among African ancestry populations. Methods We tested the associations of 20 previously identified iron status-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 628 Kenyans, 609 Tanzanians, 608 South Africans and 228 African Americans. In each study, we examined the associations present between 20 SNPs with ferritin and haemoglobin, adjusting for age, sex and CRP levels. Results In the meta analysis including all 4 African ancestry cohorts, we replicated previously reported associations with lowered haemoglobin concentrations for rs2413450 (β = -0.19, P = 0.02) and rs4820268 (β = -0.16, P = 0.04) in TMPRSS6. An association with increased ferritin concentrations was also confirmed for rs1867504 in TF (β = 1.04, P = <0.0001) in the meta analysis including the African cohorts only. Conclusions In all meta analyses, we only replicated 4 of the 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms reported to be associated with iron status in large GWA studies of European ancestry individuals. While there is now evidence for the associations of a number of genetic variants with iron status in both European and African ancestry populations, the considerable lack of concordance highlights the importance of continued ancestry-specific studies to elucidate the genetic underpinnings of iron status in ethnically diverse populations. PMID:27332551

A new familial intrauterine growth retardation syndrome the "3-M syndrome".

PubMed

Spranger, J; Opitz, J M; Nourmand, A

1976-09-01

Two pairs of siblings are described with proportionate dwarfism due to skeletal hypoplasia of prenatal onset. The head size was normal for age and disproportionately large for height. The patients had a characteristic face different from that seen in the Silver-Russell syndrome. The family data are in accordance with autosomal recessive inheritance. In spite of some similarities, the bulk of clinical and genetic evidence suggests that the described intrauterine growth retardation syndrome is different from the Silver-Russell syndrome and presents an apparently "new" entity which has been designated 3-M syndrome.

Morphological plasticity of the depth generalist coral, Montastraea cavernosa, on mesophotic reefs in Bermuda.

PubMed

Goodbody-Gringley, Gretchen; Waletich, Justin

2018-04-02

Scleractinian corals have global ecological, structural, social, and economic importance that is disproportionately large relative to their areal extent. These reef building corals form the architectural framework for shallow water tropical reef systems, supporting the most productive and biologically diverse marine ecosystems on Earth (Veron, 1995). Reef-building scleractinian species are dependent on photosynthetic products supplied by symbiotic zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium, restricting their distribution to the photic zone (Stambler, 2011). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

12 CFR 221.111 - Contribution to joint venture as extension of credit when the contribution is disproportionate to...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... credit when the contribution is disproportionate to the contributor's share in the venture's profits or... contributor's share in the venture's profits or losses. (a) The Board considered the question whether a joint... the right of participation in profits or losses, constitutes an “extension of credit” for the purpose...

12 CFR 221.111 - Contribution to joint venture as extension of credit when the contribution is disproportionate to...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... credit when the contribution is disproportionate to the contributor's share in the venture's profits or... share in the venture's profits or losses. (a) The Board considered the question whether a joint venture... of participation in profits or losses, constitutes an “extension of credit” for the purpose of this...

12 CFR 221.111 - Contribution to joint venture as extension of credit when the contribution is disproportionate to...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... credit when the contribution is disproportionate to the contributor's share in the venture's profits or... share in the venture's profits or losses. (a) The Board considered the question whether a joint venture... of participation in profits or losses, constitutes an “extension of credit” for the purpose of this...

12 CFR 221.111 - Contribution to joint venture as extension of credit when the contribution is disproportionate to...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... credit when the contribution is disproportionate to the contributor's share in the venture's profits or... share in the venture's profits or losses. (a) The Board considered the question whether a joint venture... of participation in profits or losses, constitutes an “extension of credit” for the purpose of this...

12 CFR 221.111 - Contribution to joint venture as extension of credit when the contribution is disproportionate to...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... credit when the contribution is disproportionate to the contributor's share in the venture's profits or... contributor's share in the venture's profits or losses. (a) The Board considered the question whether a joint... the right of participation in profits or losses, constitutes an “extension of credit” for the purpose...

42 CFR 412.106 - Special treatment: Hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... disproportionate share of low-income patients. 412.106 Section 412.106 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE...-income patients. (a) General considerations. (1) The factors considered in determining whether a hospital qualifies for a payment adjustment include the number of beds, the number of patient days, and the hospital...

Parental Etiological Explanations and Disproportionate Racial/Ethnic Representation in Special Education Services for Youths with Emotional Disturbance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeh, May; Forness, Steven R.; Ho, Judy; McCabe, Kristen

2004-01-01

Although there has been long concern about underidentification or misidentification of children with emotional or behavioral disorders in special education, recent attention has also been focused on disproportionate racial and ethnic representation of children in the school category of emotional disturbance (ED). There is evidence that African…

Disproportionality of English Learners with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders: A Comparative Meta-Analysis with English Learners with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gage, Nicholas; Gersten, Russell; Sugai, George; Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Disproportionate representation of English learners in special education has been a longstanding and ongoing concern. However, research examining disproportionate representation of English learners receiving special education services for emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD) has been limited. To address this gap, a meta-analysis of…

Self-consciousness of disproportionate breast size: a primary psychological reaction to abnormal appearance.

PubMed

Harris, D L

1983-04-01

An hypothesis is proposed to answer two questions: "How do the symptoms that are the experience of subjects who are self-conscious of abnormal appearance develop?" and "Why do they develop in some people and not others?" The hypothesis is explained using the typical experiences of patients with disproportionate breast size as examples.

Special Education Policy Change: Addressing the Disproportionality of English Language Learners in Special Education Programs in Rural Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrio, Brenda L.

2017-01-01

Research suggests that disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education has been a recurring topic of concern in the field of special education within the United States. Over the past few years, this concern has shifted to focus on the disproportionate representation of English Language…

Assessing the Anomalous Research on Hispanic Victimization: A Methodological Critique of a Victimological Enigma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Ben

2009-01-01

This article provides an overview and critique of the research on Hispanic victimization. Analyses of data gathered prior to the mid- to late 1990s consistently show Hispanics were victimized at disproportionately high rates, but numerous recent studies indicate Hispanics were not victimized at disproportionately high rates. Given that research…

Disproportionate Representation of Asian Students in Special Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulkarni, Saili S.

2017-01-01

The disproportionate representation of students of color in special education is a critical issue within the field. To date, however, this issue has been positioned primarily through a Black-White binary. This review contended that Asian American students in the school system have been relatively ignored in terms of representation within special…

Disproportionate Placement of African American Students in Special Education: Teacher Perceptions of the Referral Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Courtney DeVeaux

2017-01-01

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore teachers' perceptions of the special education referral process that results in minority students being disproportionately placed in special education. To this end, five research questions guided the investigation: (1) What criteria do teachers use to inform decisions about student referrals for…

A Systems Approach for Ameliorating Possible Prima Facie Denial of Hispanic/Black Students' Rights Through Disproportionate Enrollment in Special Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonnell, James R.

The paper discusses the issue of educational equity, principles of systems analysis, systems approaches in the educational milieu, the evaluation aspect of the systems approach, and application of the systems approach to preventing disproportionate enrollment of Hispanics and Blacks in special education classes in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The…

Creating a Spiral of Silence through Disproportionate Exemplar Distribution: Does It Work?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perry, Stephen D.

A study used disproportionate exemplar distributions to create a spiral of silence effect for a morally loaded issue. The effect of perception of public opinion on willingness to express an opinion was also examined. Three video news stories were created that would represent either a supporting, balanced, or opposing stance on the prayer in school…

26 CFR 1.141-9 - Unrelated or disproportionate use test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... disproportionate private business use exceeds 5 percent of the proceeds of the issue. For this purpose, the private... used facility. (2) Use for the same purpose as government use. Use of a facility by a nongovernmental person for the same purpose as use by a governmental person is not treated as unrelated use if the...

26 CFR 1.141-9 - Unrelated or disproportionate use test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... disproportionate private business use exceeds 5 percent of the proceeds of the issue. For this purpose, the private... used facility. (2) Use for the same purpose as government use. Use of a facility by a nongovernmental person for the same purpose as use by a governmental person is not treated as unrelated use if the...

26 CFR 1.141-9 - Unrelated or disproportionate use test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... disproportionate private business use exceeds 5 percent of the proceeds of the issue. For this purpose, the private... used facility. (2) Use for the same purpose as government use. Use of a facility by a nongovernmental person for the same purpose as use by a governmental person is not treated as unrelated use if the...

26 CFR 1.141-9 - Unrelated or disproportionate use test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... disproportionate private business use exceeds 5 percent of the proceeds of the issue. For this purpose, the private... used facility. (2) Use for the same purpose as government use. Use of a facility by a nongovernmental person for the same purpose as use by a governmental person is not treated as unrelated use if the...

26 CFR 1.141-9 - Unrelated or disproportionate use test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... disproportionate private business use exceeds 5 percent of the proceeds of the issue. For this purpose, the private... used facility. (2) Use for the same purpose as government use. Use of a facility by a nongovernmental person for the same purpose as use by a governmental person is not treated as unrelated use if the...

The Disproportionate Use of Discipline: An Investigation of the Potential Impact of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guardino, David Matthew

2013-01-01

Over the last 35 years, the disproportionate use of discipline by gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status has been consistently documented. Specifically, Black males receive the majority of suspensions and expulsions. Discipline for Native American and Hispanic students, while often showing overrepresentation, is less consistent. There is…

Disproportionate Suspension of African American Students in Public Schools: A Delphi Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belcher, Nikia M.

2012-01-01

The problem addressed in this study was the disproportionate number of African American students who are suspended or expelled at a higher rate than their white counterparts in Michigan public schools. This research was framed with critical race theory and cultural ecology theory of African American students suspended. This study applied a Delphi…

Disproportionately severe memory deficit in relation to normal intellectual functioning after closed head injury.

PubMed Central

Levin, H S; Goldstein, F C; High, W M; Eisenberg, H M

1988-01-01

The presence of disproportionate memory impairment with relatively preserved intellectual functioning was examined in 87 survivors of moderate or severe closed head injury. Approximately one-fourth of the patients tested at 5 to 15 and/or 16 to 42 months after injury manifested defective memory on both auditory and pictorial measures despite obtaining Wechsler Verbal and Performance Intelligence Quotients within the average range. The findings indicate that disproportionately severe memory deficit persists in a subgroup of closed head injured survivors which is reminiscent in some cases of the amnesic disturbance arising from other causes. Evaluation of long term memory in relation to cognitive ability could potentially identify important distinctions for prognosis and rehabilitation in head injured patients. PMID:3225586

Urbanization in Africa since independence.

PubMed

Tarver, J D

1994-01-01

Over 185 million inhabitants were added to the urban areas of Africa between 1950 and 1990. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland is the most highly urbanized, with 55% in 1990; while less than a quarter of Eastern Africa's population is living in urban centers. By the year 2015 more than half of Africa's population will be living in urban areas. Many parts of Africa have suffered prolonged droughts, overgrazing, locust infestations, and desertification. Millions have become refugees from natural disasters, political oppression, and rural poverty. The large exodus from Africa's rural areas has gone to cities but the large cities have attracted disproportionately large numbers of destitute migrants. Alexandria (1 million), Cairo (2.4 million) and the Witwatersrand in South Africa were the only African urban agglomerations with at least one million inhabitants in 1950. By 1990 the two Egyptian cities together had 12.7 million inhabitants and the Witwatersrand some 5 million, whereas the other 25 urban agglomerations with a million inhabitants each in 1990 had a total population of about 51 million. Lagos, Kinshasa, and Algiers ranged from 3 to 7.7 million. The capitals are the largest cities in at least 54 of the 59 countries and territories. Lagos, Nairobi, and Dar es Salaam are disproportionately larger than the next most populous cities in their countries. The 28 urban agglomerations with at least one million inhabitants had a total population of 70 million in 1990, and are projected to reach 100 million in the year 2000. Overall, Africa's urban population is projected to increase by approximately 135 million in the 1990-2000 decade (from 217 million to 352 million). About 105 million of the growth probably will occur in the smaller urban centers. The total African urban population is likely to reach one billion inhabitants within the next 50 years. It stood at 32 million in 1950. Presently, the United Nations projects 912 million urban residents (57% of the total population) by 2025.

'Sometimes people let love conquer them': how love, intimacy, and trust in relationships between men who have sex with men influence perceptions of sexual risk and sexual decision-making.

PubMed

Goldenberg, Tamar; Finneran, Catherine; Andes, Karen L; Stephenson, Rob

2015-01-01

Men who have sex with men account for a disproportionate burden of HIV incidence in the USA. Although much research has examined the drivers of sexual risk-taking, the emotional contexts in which men make sexual decisions has received little attention. In this three-phase, 10-week longitudinal qualitative study involving 25 gay and bisexual men, we used timeline-based interviews and quantitative web-based diaries about sexual and/or dating partners to examine how emotions influence HIV risk perceptions and sexual decision-making. Participants described love, intimacy, and trust as reducing HIV risk perceptions and facilitating engagement in condomless anal intercourse. Lust was not as linked with risk perceptions, but facilitated non condom-use through an increased willingness to engage in condomless anal intercourse, despite perceptions of risk. Results indicate that gay and bisexual men do not make sexual decisions in an emotional vacuum. Emotions influence perceptions of risk so that they do not necessarily align with biological risk factors. Emotional influences, especially the type and context of emotions, are important to consider to improve HIV prevention efforts among gay and bisexual men.

Influence of gender on Tourette syndrome beyond adolescence.

PubMed

Lichter, D G; Finnegan, S G

2015-02-01

Although boys are disproportionately affected by tics in Tourette syndrome (TS), this gender bias is attenuated in adulthood and a recent study has suggested that women may experience greater functional interference from tics than men. The authors assessed the gender distribution of adults in a tertiary University-based TS clinic population and the relative influence of gender and other variables on adult tic severity (YGTSS score) and psychosocial functioning (GAF score). We also determined retrospectively the influence of gender on change in global tic severity and overall TS impairment (YGTSS) since adolescence. Females were over-represented in relation to previously published epidemiologic surveys of both TS children and adults. Female gender was associated with a greater likelihood of tic worsening as opposed to tic improvement in adulthood; a greater likelihood of expansion as opposed to contraction of motor tic distribution; and with increased current motor tic severity and tic-related impairment. However, gender explained only a small percentage of the variance of the YGTSS global severity score and none of the variance of the GAF scale score. Psychosocial functioning was influenced most strongly by tic severity but also by a variety of comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Geographic Disparities in Liver Availability: Accidents of Geography, or Consequences of Poor Social Policy?

PubMed

Ladin, K; Zhang, G; Hanto, D W

2017-09-01

Recently, a redistricting proposal intended to equalize Model for End-stage Liver Disease score at transplant recommended expanding liver sharing to mitigate geographic variation in liver transplantation. Yet, it is unclear whether variation in liver availability is arbitrary and a disparity requiring rectification or reflects differences in access to care. We evaluate the proposal's claim that organ supply is an "accident of geography" by examining the relationship between local organ supply and the uneven landscape of social determinants and policies that contribute to differential death rates across the United States. We show that higher mortality leading to greater availability of organs may in part result from disproportionate risks incurred at the local level. Disparities in public safety laws, health care infrastructure, and public funding may influence the risk of death and subsequent availability of deceased donors. These risk factors are disproportionately prevalent in regions with high organ supply. Policies calling for organ redistribution from high-supply to low-supply regions may exacerbate existing social and health inequalities by redistributing the single benefit (greater organ availability) of greater exposure to environmental and contextual risks (e.g. violent death, healthcare scarcity). Variation in liver availability may not be an "accident of geography" but rather a byproduct of disadvantage. © 2017 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Extended Twilight among Isogenic C. elegans Causes a Disproportionate Scaling between Lifespan and Health.

PubMed

Zhang, William B; Sinha, Drew B; Pittman, William E; Hvatum, Erik; Stroustrup, Nicholas; Pincus, Zachary

2016-10-26

Although many genetic factors and lifestyle interventions are known to affect the mean lifespan of animal populations, the physiological variation displayed by individuals across their lifespans remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we use a custom culture apparatus to continuously monitor five aspects of aging physiology across hundreds of isolated Caenorhabditis elegans individuals kept in a constant environment from hatching until death. Aggregating these measurements into an overall estimate of senescence, we find two chief differences between longer- and shorter-lived individuals. First, though long- and short-lived individuals are physiologically equivalent in early adulthood, longer-lived individuals experience a lower rate of physiological decline throughout life. Second, and counter-intuitively, long-lived individuals have a disproportionately extended "twilight" period of low physiological function. While longer-lived individuals experience more overall days of good health, their proportion of good to bad health, and thus their average quality of life, is systematically lower than that of shorter-lived individuals. We conclude that, within a homogeneous population reared under constant conditions, the period of early-life good health is comparatively uniform, and the most plastic period in the aging process is end-of-life senescence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Models of energy homeostasis in response to maintenance of reduced body weight

PubMed Central

Rosenbaum, Michael; Leibel, Rudolph L.

2016-01-01

Objective To test 3 proposed models for adaptive thermogenesis in compartments of energy expenditure following different degrees of weight loss. Specifically, 1.) There is no adaptive thermogenesis (constant relationship of energy expenditure (EE) to metabolic mass). 2.) There is a fixed degree of adaptive thermogenesis once fat stores are below a “threshold”. 3.) The degree of adaptive thermogenesis is proportional to weight loss. Methods The relationship between weight loss and EE was examined in seventeen weight stable in-patient subjects with obesity studied at usual weight and again following a 10% and a 20% weight loss. Results Following initial weight loss (10%), resting (REE) and non-resting (NREE) EE were significantly below those predicted on the basis of the amount and composition of weight lost. Further reductions below predicted values of NREE but not REE occurred following an additional 10% weight loss. Changes in body weight, composition, and/or energy stores were significantly correlated with changes in EE. Conclusion All models are applicable to the decline in EE following weight loss. The disproportionate decline in REE is consistent with a threshold model (no change with further weight loss) while the disproportionate decline in NREE is largely reflective of the degree of weight loss. PMID:27460711

Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes.

PubMed

Leopold, Thomas

2018-06-01

In this study, I examined gender differences in the consequences of divorce by tracing annual change in 20 outcome measures covering four domains: economic, housing and domestic, health and well-being, and social. I used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and fixed-effects panel regression models on a sample of N = 18,030 individuals initially observed in a marital union, N = 1,220 of whom divorced across the observation period (1984-2015). Three main findings emerged from the analysis. First, men were more vulnerable to short-term consequences of divorce for subjective measures of well-being, but postdivorce adaptation alleviated gender differences in these outcomes. Second, a medium-term view on multiple outcomes showed more similarity than differences between women and men. The medium-term consequences of divorce were similar in terms of subjective economic well-being; mental health, physical health, and psychological well-being; residential moves, homeownership, and satisfaction with housework; and chances of repartnering, social integration with friends and relatives, and feelings of loneliness. Third, the key domain in which large and persistent gender differences emerged were women's disproportionate losses in household income and associated increases in their risk of poverty and single parenting. Taken together, these findings suggest that men's disproportionate strain of divorce is transient, whereas women's is chronic.

Risk factors among handgun retailers for frequent and disproportionate sales of guns used in violent and firearm related crimes

PubMed Central

Wintemute, G; Cook, P; Wright, M

2005-01-01

Objective: To determine the retailer and community level factors associated with frequent and disproportionate sales of handguns that are later used in violent and firearm related crimes (VFC handguns). Design: Cross sectional. The authors used California records to identify all handguns sold by study subjects during 1996–2000 and federal gun tracing records to determine which of these guns had been recovered by a police agency in the US or elsewhere and traced by 30 September 2003. Subjects and setting: The 421 licensed gun retailers in California selling at least 100 handguns annually during 1996–2000. Main outcome measure: The number of VFC handguns per 1000 gun years of exposure. Differences are expressed as incidence rate ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Subjects accounted for 11.7% of California retailers with handgun sales, 81.5% of handgun sales, and 85.5% of VFC handguns. Among subjects, the 3426 VFC handguns accounted for 48.0% of all traced handguns and 65.0% of those linked to a specified crime. The median VFC handgun trace rate was 0.5/1000 gun years (range 0–8.8). In multivariate analysis, this rate increased substantially for each single-point increase in the percentage of proposed sales that were denied because the purchasers were prohibited from owning guns (RR 1.43; 95% CI 1.32 to 1.56), and was increased for pawnbrokers (RR 1.26; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.55). Community level crime rates and sociodemographics had little predictive value. Conclusions: Risk factors, largely determined at the retailer level, exist for frequent and disproportionate sales of handguns that are later used in violent and firearm related crimes. Screening to identify high risk retailers could be undertaken with data that are already available. PMID:16326771

Examining the Effectiveness of Climate Change Frames in the Face of a Climate Change Denial Counter-Frame.

PubMed

McCright, Aaron M; Charters, Meghan; Dentzman, Katherine; Dietz, Thomas

2016-01-01

Prior research on the influence of various ways of framing anthropogenic climate change (ACC) do not account for the organized ACC denial in the U.S. media and popular culture, and thus may overestimate these frames' influence in the general public. We conducted an experiment to examine how Americans' ACC views are influenced by four promising frames for urging action on ACC (economic opportunity, national security, Christian stewardship, and public health)-when these frames appear with an ACC denial counter-frame. This is the first direct test of how exposure to an ACC denial message influences Americans' ACC views. Overall, these four positive frames have little to no effect on ACC beliefs. But exposure to an ACC denial counter-frame does significantly reduce respondents' belief in the reality of ACC, belief about the veracity of climate science, awareness of the consequences of ACC, and support for aggressively attempting to reduce our nation's GHG emissions in the near future. Furthermore, as expected by the Anti-Reflexivity Thesis, exposure to the ACC denial counter-frame has a disproportionate influence on the ACC views of conservatives (than on those of moderates and liberals), effectively activating conservatives' underlying propensity for anti-reflexivity. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Diversity Exiting the Academy: Influential Factors for the Career Choice of Well-Represented and Underrepresented Minority Scientists

PubMed Central

Layton, Rebekah L.; Brandt, Patrick D.; Freeman, Ashalla M.; Harrell, Jessica R.; Hall, Joshua D.; Sinche, Melanie

2016-01-01

A national sample of PhD-trained scientists completed training, accepted subsequent employment in academic and nonacademic positions, and were queried about their previous graduate training and current employment. Respondents indicated factors contributing to their employment decision (e.g., working conditions, salary, job security). The data indicate the relative importance of deciding factors influencing career choice, controlling for gender, initial interest in faculty careers, and number of postgraduate publications. Among both well-represented (WR; n = 3444) and underrepresented minority (URM; n = 225) respondents, faculty career choice was positively associated with desire for autonomy and partner opportunity and negatively associated with desire for leadership opportunity. Differences between groups in reasons endorsed included: variety, prestige, salary, family influence, and faculty advisor influence. Furthermore, endorsement of faculty advisor or other mentor influence and family or peer influence were surprisingly rare across groups, suggesting that formal and informal support networks could provide a missed opportunity to provide support for trainees who want to stay in faculty career paths. Reasons requiring alteration of misperceptions (e.g., limited leadership opportunity for faculty) must be distinguished from reasons requiring removal of actual barriers. Further investigation into factors that affect PhDs’ career decisions can help elucidate why URM candidates are disproportionately exiting the academy. PMID:27587854

An Exploration of School Leadership Perspectives on the Disproportionate Placement of African American Males in the Serious Emotional Disability Category of Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattocks, LaVerne Lynette

2016-01-01

Since 1968, researchers have been questioning the pertinence of special education programs and the prevalence of African American males identified for participation. This exploration uses a constructivist grounded theory framework to inquire about administrative perspectives on the disproportionate number of African American males in special…

Exclusionary Discipline Highest in New Hampshire's Urban Schools: Suspension and Expulsion Found to Disproportionately Affect Disadvantaged Students. Regional Issue Brief Number 46

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gagnon, Douglas J.; Jaffee, Eleanor M.; Kennedy, Reeve

2016-01-01

Exclusionary school discipline--that is, suspension and expulsion--disproportionately affects already disadvantaged students on both the national and state levels. In New Hampshire, students attending larger urban schools, male students, students of color, students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and homeless…

41 CFR 102-76.70 - When are the costs of alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area containing a primary function... to an altered area containing a primary function disproportionate to the costs of the overall... area containing a primary function are disproportionate to the costs of the overall alterations when...

41 CFR 102-76.70 - When are the costs of alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area containing a primary function... to an altered area containing a primary function disproportionate to the costs of the overall... area containing a primary function are disproportionate to the costs of the overall alterations when...

41 CFR 102-76.70 - When are the costs of alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area containing a primary function... to an altered area containing a primary function disproportionate to the costs of the overall... area containing a primary function are disproportionate to the costs of the overall alterations when...

41 CFR 102-76.70 - When are the costs of alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area containing a primary function... to an altered area containing a primary function disproportionate to the costs of the overall... area containing a primary function are disproportionate to the costs of the overall alterations when...

41 CFR 102-76.70 - When are the costs of alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... alterations to provide an accessible path of travel to an altered area containing a primary function... to an altered area containing a primary function disproportionate to the costs of the overall... area containing a primary function are disproportionate to the costs of the overall alterations when...

42 CFR 447.294 - Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment reductions for Federal fiscal year 2014...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment reductions for Federal fiscal year 2014 and Federal fiscal year 2015. 447.294 Section 447.294 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS PAYMENTS FOR...

42 CFR 447.294 - Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment reductions for Federal fiscal year 2014...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment reductions for Federal fiscal year 2014 and Federal fiscal year 2015. 447.294 Section 447.294 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS PAYMENTS FOR...

Patterns of morbidity and rehospitalisation following spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Middleton, J W; Lim, K; Taylor, L; Soden, R; Rutkowski, S

2004-06-01

Longitudinal, descriptive design. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, cause and duration of rehospitalisations in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in the community. Australian spinal cord injury unit in collaboration with State Health Department. A data set was created by linking records from the NSW Department of Health Inpatient Statistics Collection between 1989-1990 and 1999-2000 with data from the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) Spinal Cord Injuries Database using probabilistic record linkage techniques. Records excluded were nontraumatic injuries, age <16 years, spinal column injury without neurological deficit, full recovery (ASIA Grade E) and index admission not at RNSH. Descriptive statistics and time to readmission using survival analysis, stratified by ASIA impairment grade, were calculated. Over the 10-year period, 253 persons (58.6%) required one or more spinal-related readmissions, accounting for 977 rehospitalisations and 15,127 bed-days (average length of stay (ALOS) 15.5 days; median 5 days). The most frequent causes for rehospitalisation were genitourinary (24.1% of readmissions), gastrointestinal (11.0%), further rehabilitation (11.0%), skin-related (8.9%), musculoskeletal (8.6%) and psychiatric disorders (6.8%). Pressure sores accounted for only 6.6% of all readmissions, however, contributed a disproportionate number of bed-days (27.9%), with an ALOS of 65.9 (median 49) days and over 50% of readmissions (33 out of 64) occurred in only nine individuals aged under 30 years. Age, level and completeness of neurological impairment, all influenced differential rates of readmission depending on the type of complication. Overall rehospitalisation rates were high in the first 4 years after initial treatment episode, averaging 0.64 readmissions (12.6 bed-days) per person at risk in the first year and fluctuating between 0.52 and 0.61 readmissions (5.1-8.3 bed-days) per person at risk per year between the second to fourth years, before trending downwards to reach 0.35 readmissions (2.0 bed-days) as 10th year approaches. Time to readmission was influenced by degree of impairment, with significantly fewer people readmitted for ASIA D (43.2%) versus ASIA A, B and C (55.2-67.0%) impairments (P<0.0001). The mean duration to first readmission was 46 months overall, however, differed significantly between persons with ASIA A-C impairments (26-36 months) and ASIA D impairment (60 months). Identifying rates, causes and patterns of morbidity is important for future resource allocation and targeting preventative measures. For instance, the late complication of pressure sores in a small subgroup of young males, consuming disproportionately large resources, warrants further research to better understand the complex psychosocial and environmental factors involved and to develop effective countermeasures.

On the variability of alligator sex ratios

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, J.D.; Chabreck, R.H.

1980-01-01

Samples of alligators from wild and 'farm' populations exhibited disproportionate sex ratios. Males predominated among young alligators from wild populations, whereas females were much more abundant than males in the farm population, where resources were superabundant. These results and other considerations lead us to hypothesize that environmental factors influence sex determination in alligators. During favorable environmental conditions natural selection is expected to favor a preponderance of the sex whose individuals exhibit the greater environmentally associated variation in relative fitness. We hypothesize that environmentally associated variation in age at sexual maturity of females produces sufficient variation in relative fitness of females to result in selection for low sex ratios during periods of resource abundance.

The Influence of Pastors' Ideologies of Homosexuality on HIV Prevention in the Black Church.

PubMed

Quinn, Katherine; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Young, Staci

2016-10-01

Young, Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV, and Black Churches may be a source of stigma which can exacerbate HIV risk and contribute to negative health and psychosocial outcomes. Findings from this study are based on 21 semi-structured interviews with pastors and ethnographic observation in six Black Churches. Interview transcripts and field notes were analyzed in MAXQDA using thematic content analysis. Although pastors espoused messages of love and acceptance, they overwhelmingly believed homosexuality was a sin and had difficulty accepting YBMSM into their churches. The tension around homosexuality limited pastors' involvement in HIV prevention efforts, although there still may be opportunities for some churches.

United States public policy and the elderly: the disproportionate risk to the well-being of women.

PubMed

Burkhauser, R V; Duncan, G J

1991-01-01

"Cross-sectional comparisons show that poverty among the aged in the United States has dropped dramatically over the last two decades. We use longitudinal data to identify economic events associated with unfavorable economic outcomes and to trace the influence of these events on women and men at different ages. We find that while social insurance programs appear to prevent severe financial hardship from the most frequent work-related events, they are far less effective in cushioning the economic impact of widowhood and divorce, especially for women. We suggest a number of policy changes that would provide some measure of social insurance against adverse family-related events." excerpt

Asian Indian views on diet and health in the United States: importance of understanding cultural and social factors to address disparities.

PubMed

Mukherjea, Arnab; Underwood, Kelsey Clark; Stewart, Anita L; Ivey, Susan L; Kanaya, Alka M

2013-01-01

This study describes Asian Indian immigrant perspectives surrounding dietary beliefs and practices to identify intervention targets for diabetes and heart disease prevention. Participants were asked about conceptualizations of relationships between culture, food, and health during 4 focus groups (n = 38). Findings reveal influences of beliefs from respondents' native India, preservation of cultural practices within the US social structure, conflicts with subsequent generations, and reinterpretation of health-related knowledge through a lens, hybridizing both "native" and "host" contexts. Galvanization of ethnically valued beliefs incorporating family and community structures is needed for multipronged approaches to reduce disproportionate burdens of disease among this understudied minority community.

"I felt so hurt and lonely": suicidal behavior in South Asian-Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan women in the Netherlands.

PubMed

van Bergen, Diana D; van Balkom, Anton J L M; Smit, Johannes H; Saharso, Sawitri

2012-02-01

Young immigrant women in the Netherlands demonstrate disproportionate rates of suicidal behavior. This study investigated the origins of suicidal behavior in South Asian-Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan immigrant young women in order to identify ethnic- and gender-specific patterns of suicidal behavior. Based on life story interviews of women who had been enrolled in mental health care, we constructed five typical patterns in which social, cultural, and personal factors were interconnected. Suicidal behavior was influenced by the ability and right to act autonomously with regard to strategic life choices, as well as by the questioning of cultural values of self-sacrifice and protection of honor.

Temporal Variations of Water Productivity in Irrigated Corn: An Analysis of Factors Influencing Yield and Water Use across Central Nebraska

PubMed Central

Carr, Tony; Yang, Haishun; Ray, Chittaranjan

2016-01-01

Water Productivity (WP) of a crop defines the relationship between the economic or physical yield of the crop and its water use. With this concept it is possible to identify disproportionate water use or water-limited yield gaps and thereby support improvements in agricultural water management. However, too often important qualitative and quantitative environmental factors are not part of a WP analysis and therefore neglect the aspect of maintaining a sustainable agricultural system. In this study, we examine both the physical and economic WP in perspective with temporally changing environmental conditions. The physical WP analysis was performed by comparing simulated maximum attainable corn yields per unit of water using the crop model Hybrid-Maize with observed data from 2005 through 2013 from 108 farm plots in the Central Platte and the Tri Basin Natural Resource Districts of Nebraska. In order to expand the WP analysis on external factors influencing yields, a second model, Maize-N, was used to estimate optimal nitrogen (N)–fertilizer rate for specific fields in the study area. Finally, a vadose zone flow and transport model, HYDRUS-1D for simulating vertical nutrient transport in the soil, was used to estimate locations of nitrogen pulses in the soil profile. The comparison of simulated and observed data revealed that WP was not on an optimal level, mainly due to large amounts of irrigation used in the study area. The further analysis illustrated year-to-year variations of WP during the nine consecutive years, as well as the need to improve fertilizer management to favor WP and environmental quality. In addition, we addressed the negative influence of groundwater depletion on the economic WP through increasing pumping costs. In summary, this study demonstrated that involving temporal variations of WP as well as associated environmental and economic issues can represent a bigger picture of WP that can help to create incentives to sustainably improve agricultural production. PMID:27575368

A Small Number of Low-abundance Bacteria Dominate Plant Species-specific Responses during Rhizosphere Colonization

PubMed Central

Dawson, Wayne; Hör, Jens; Egert, Markus; van Kleunen, Mark; Pester, Michael

2017-01-01

Plant growth can be affected by soil bacteria. In turn, plants are known to influence soil bacteria through rhizodeposits and changes in abiotic conditions. We aimed to quantify the phylotype richness and relative abundance of rhizosphere bacteria that are actually influenced in a plant species-specific manner and to determine the role of the disproportionately large diversity of low-abundance bacteria belonging to the rare biosphere (<0.1 relative abundance) in this process. In addition, we aimed to determine whether plant phylogeny has an influence on the plant species-specific rhizosphere bacterial community. For this purpose, 19 herbaceous plant species from five different plant orders were grown in a common soil substrate. Bacterial communities in the initial soil substrate and the established rhizosphere soils were compared by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Only a small number of bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs, 97% sequence identity) responded either positively (ca. 1%) or negatively (ca. 1%) to a specific plant species. On average, 91% of plant-specific positive response OTUs comprised bacteria belonging to the rare biosphere, highlighting that low-abundance populations are metabolically active in the rhizosphere. In addition, low-abundance OTUs were in terms of their summed relative abundance major drivers of the bacterial phyla composition across the rhizosphere of all tested plant species. However, no effect of plant phylogeny could be observed on the established rhizosphere bacterial communities, neither when considering differences in the overall established rhizosphere communities nor when considering plant species-specific responders only. Our study provides a quantitative assessment of the effect of plants on their rhizosphere bacteria across multiple plant orders. Plant species-specific effects on soil bacterial communities involved only 18–111 bacterial OTUs out of several 1000s; this minority may potentially impact plant growth in plant–bacteria interactions. PMID:28611765

Preparation of Si nano-crystals with controlled oxidation state from SiO disproportionated by ZrO2 ball-milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okamoto, Yuji; Harada, Yoshitomo; Ohta, Narumi; Takada, Kazunori; Sumiya, Masatomo

2016-09-01

We demonstrate that a SiO disproportionation reaction can be achieved simply by high energy mechanochemical milling. The planetary ball-milling of ZrO2 for a few minutes generated Si nano-crystals. Milling conditions including rotation speed, ball number, milling time, and type of ball material were able to control the oxidation states of Si. The ball-milled SiO powder was tested as an anode of a lithium battery. ZrO2 contamination from the vial and balls was eliminated by dipping the ball-milled SiO powder in (NH4)HSO4 molten salt and heating for 5 min. The disproportionated SiO powder showed characteristics comparable to those of a powder prepared by a conventional heating process taking several hours.

[Liability in Anaesthesiology: theory of disproportionate damage].

PubMed

Galán Gutiérrez, J C; Galán Cortés, J C

2013-10-01

An analysis is made of the controversial application of the theory of disproportionate damage in the anaesthetic act, due to the high inherent risk, and regardless of the seriousness and importance of the surgery being performed. The existence of a disproportionate damage, that is, damage not foreseen nor accountable within the framework of the professional performance of the anaesthetist, does not by itself determine the existence of liability on the part of the anaesthetist, but the demand from the professionals themselves for a coherent explanation of the serious disagreement between the initial risk implied by their actions and the final consequence produced. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Understanding nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and implications for management and restoration: the Eastern Shore

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ator, Scott W.; Denver, Judith M.

2015-03-12

The Eastern Shore includes only a small part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but contributes disproportionately large loads of the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that have contributed to ecological and economic degradation of the bay in recent decades. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and a vital ecological and economic resource. The bay and its tributaries have been degraded in recent decades by excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in the water column, however, which cause harmful algal blooms and decreased water clarity, submerged aquatic vegetation, and dissolved oxygen. The disproportionately large nitrogen and phosphorus yields from the Eastern Shore to Chesapeake Bay are attributable to human land-use practices as well as natural hydrogeologic and soil conditions. Applications of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds to the Eastern Shore from human activities are intensive. More than 90 percent of nitrogen and phosphorus reaching the land in the Eastern Shore is applied as part of inorganic fertilizers or manure, or (for nitrogen) fixed directly from the atmosphere in cropland. Also, hydrogeologic and soil conditions promote the movement of these compounds from application areas on the landscape to groundwater and (or) surface waters, and the proximity of much of the Eastern Shore to tidal waters limits opportunities for natural removal of these compounds in the landscape. The Eastern Shore only includes 7 percent of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but receives nearly twice as much nitrogen and phosphorus applications (per area) as the remainder of the watershed and yields greater nitrogen and phosphorus, on average, to the bay. Nitrogen and phosphorus commonly occur in streams at concentrations that may adversely affect aquatic ecosystems and have increased in recent decades.

Root niche separation can explain avoidance of seasonal drought stress and vulnerability of overstory trees to extended drought in a mature Amazonian forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, Valeriy Y.; Hutyra, Lucy R.; Wofsy, Steven C.; Munger, J. William; Saleska, Scott R.; de Oliveira, Raimundo C., Jr.; de Camargo, Plínio B.

2012-12-01

Large areas of Amazonian evergreen forest experience seasonal droughts extending for three or more months, yet show maximum rates of photosynthesis and evapotranspiration during dry intervals. This apparent resilience is belied by disproportionate mortality of the large trees in manipulations that reduce wet season rainfall, occurring after 2-3 years of treatment. The goal of this study is to characterize the mechanisms that produce these contrasting ecosystem responses. A mechanistic model is developed based on the ecohydrological framework of TIN (Triangulated Irregular Network)-based Real Time Integrated Basin Simulator + Vegetation Generator for Interactive Evolution (tRIBS+VEGGIE). The model is used to test the roles of deep roots and soil capillary flux to provide water to the forest during the dry season. Also examined is the importance of "root niche separation," in which roots of overstory trees extend to depth, where during the dry season they use water stored from wet season precipitation, while roots of understory trees are concentrated in shallow layers that access dry season precipitation directly. Observational data from the Tapajós National Forest, Brazil, were used as meteorological forcing and provided comprehensive observational constraints on the model. Results strongly suggest that deep roots with root niche separation adaptations explain both the observed resilience during seasonal drought and the vulnerability of canopy-dominant trees to extended deficits of wet season rainfall. These mechanisms appear to provide an adaptive strategy that enhances productivity of the largest trees in the face of their disproportionate heat loads and water demand in the dry season. A sensitivity analysis exploring how wet season rainfall affects the stability of the rainforest system is presented.

Safety related drug-labelling changes: findings from two data mining algorithms.

PubMed

Hauben, Manfred; Reich, Lester

2004-01-01

With increasing volumes of postmarketing safety surveillance data, data mining algorithms (DMAs) have been developed to search large spontaneous reporting system (SRS) databases for disproportional statistical dependencies between drugs and events. A crucial question is the proper deployment of such techniques within the universe of methods historically used for signal detection. One question of interest is comparative performance of algorithms based on simple forms of disproportionality analysis versus those incorporating Bayesian modelling. A potential benefit of Bayesian methods is a reduced volume of signals, including false-positive signals. To compare performance of two well described DMAs (proportional reporting ratios [PRRs] and an empirical Bayesian algorithm known as multi-item gamma Poisson shrinker [MGPS]) using commonly recommended thresholds on a diverse data set of adverse events that triggered drug labelling changes. PRRs and MGPS were retrospectively applied to a diverse sample of drug-event combinations (DECs) identified on a government Internet site for a 7-month period. Metrics for this comparative analysis included the number and proportion of these DECs that generated signals of disproportionate reporting with PRRs, MGPS, both or neither method, differential timing of signal generation between the two methods, and clinical nature of events that generated signals with only one, both or neither method. There were 136 relevant DECs that triggered safety-related labelling changes for 39 drugs during a 7-month period. PRRs generated a signal of disproportionate reporting with almost twice as many DECs as MGPS (77 vs 40). No DECs were flagged by MGPS only. PRRs highlighted DECs in advance of MGPS (1-15 years) and a label change (1-30 years). For 59 DECs, there was no signal with either DMA. DECs generating signals of disproportionate reporting with only PRRs were both medically serious and non-serious. In most instances in which a DEC generated a signal of disproportionate reporting with both DMAs (almost twice as many with PRRs), the signal was generated using PRRs in advance of MGPS. No medically important events were signalled only by MGPS. It is likely that the incremental utility of DMAs are highly situation-dependent. It is clear, however, that the volume of signals generated by itself is an inadequate criterion for comparison and that clinical nature of signalled events and differential timing of signals needs to be considered. Accepting commonly recommended threshold criteria for DMAs examined in this study as universal benchmarks for signal detection is not justified.

Separating the wheat from the chaff: mitigating the effects of noise in a plastome phylogenomic data set from Pinus L. (Pinaceae)

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Through next-generation sequencing, the amount of sequence data potentially available for phylogenetic analyses has increased exponentially in recent years. Simultaneously, the risk of incorporating ‘noisy’ data with misleading phylogenetic signal has also increased, and may disproportionately influence the topology of weakly supported nodes and lineages featuring rapid radiations and/or elevated rates of evolution. Results We investigated the influence of phylogenetic noise in large data sets by applying two fundamental strategies, variable site removal and long-branch exclusion, to the phylogenetic analysis of a full plastome alignment of 107 species of Pinus and six Pinaceae outgroups. While high overall phylogenetic resolution resulted from inclusion of all data, three historically recalcitrant nodes remained conflicted with previous analyses. Close investigation of these nodes revealed dramatically different responses to data removal. Whereas topological resolution and bootstrap support for two clades peaked with removal of highly variable sites, the third clade resolved most strongly when all sites were included. Similar trends were observed using long-branch exclusion, but patterns were neither as strong nor as clear. When compared to previous phylogenetic analyses of nuclear loci and morphological data, the most highly supported topologies seen in Pinus plastome analysis are congruent for the two clades gaining support from variable site removal and long-branch exclusion, but in conflict for the clade with highest support from the full data set. Conclusions These results suggest that removal of misleading signal in phylogenomic datasets can result not only in increased resolution for poorly supported nodes, but may serve as a tool for identifying erroneous yet highly supported topologies. For Pinus chloroplast genomes, removal of variable sites appears to be more effective than long-branch exclusion for clarifying phylogenetic hypotheses. PMID:22731878

Genome-wide association study of dental caries in the Hispanic Communities Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

PubMed Central

Morrison, Jean; Laurie, Cathy C.; Marazita, Mary L.; Sanders, Anne E.; Offenbacher, Steven; Salazar, Christian R.; Conomos, Matthew P.; Thornton, Timothy; Jain, Deepti; Laurie, Cecelia A.; Kerr, Kathleen F.; Papanicolaou, George; Taylor, Kent; Kaste, Linda M.; Beck, James D.; Shaffer, John R.

2016-01-01

Dental caries is the most common chronic disease worldwide, and exhibits profound disparities in the USA with racial and ethnic minorities experiencing disproportionate disease burden. Though heritable, the specific genes influencing risk of dental caries remain largely unknown. Therefore, we performed genome-wide association scans (GWASs) for dental caries in a population-based cohort of 12 000 Hispanic/Latino participants aged 18–74 years from the HCHS/SOL. Intra-oral examinations were used to generate two common indices of dental caries experience which were tested for association with 27.7 M genotyped or imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms separately in the six ancestry groups. A mixed-models approach was used, which adjusted for age, sex, recruitment site, five principal components of ancestry and additional features of the sampling design. Meta-analyses were used to combine GWAS results across ancestry groups. Heritability estimates ranged from 20–53% in the six ancestry groups. The most significant association observed via meta-analysis for both phenotypes was in the region of the NAMPT gene (rs190395159; P-value = 6 × 10−10), which is involved in many biological processes including periodontal healing. Another significant association was observed for rs72626594 (P-value = 3 × 10−8) downstream of BMP7, a tooth development gene. Other associations were observed in genes lacking known or plausible roles in dental caries. In conclusion, this was the largest GWAS of dental caries, to date and was the first to target Hispanic/Latino populations. Understanding the factors influencing dental caries susceptibility may lead to improvements in prediction, prevention and disease management, which may ultimately reduce the disparities in oral health across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic strata. PMID:26662797

Short-lived halocarbons efficient at influencing climate through ozone loss in the upper troposphere-lower stratosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossaini, Ryan; Chipperfield, Martyn; Montzka, Steven; Rap, Alex; Dhomse, Sandip; Feng, Wuhu

2015-04-01

Halogenated very short-lived substances (VSLS) of both natural and anthropogenic origin are a significant source of atmospheric bromine, chlorine and iodine. Due to relatively short atmospheric lifetimes (typically <6 months), VSLS breakdown in the upper troposphere-lower stratosphere (UTLS), where ozone perturbations drive a disproportionately large climate impact compared to other altitudes. Here we present chemical transport model simulations that quantify VSLS-driven ozone loss in the UTLS and infer the climate relevance of these ozone perturbations using a radiative transfer model. Our results indicate that through their impact on UTLS ozone, VSLS are efficient at influencing climate. We calculate a whole atmosphere global mean radiative effect (RE) of -0.20 (-0.16 to -0.23) Wm-2 from natural and anthropogenic VSLS-driven ozone loss, including a tropospheric contribution of -0.12 Wm-2. In the stratosphere, the RE due to ozone loss from natural bromine-containing VSLS (e.g. CHBr3, CH2Br2) is almost half of that from long-lived anthropogenic compounds (e.g. CFCs) and normalized by equivalent chlorine is ~4 times larger. We show that the anthropogenic chlorine-containing VSLS, not regulated by the Montreal Protocol, also contribute to ozone loss in the UTLS and that the atmospheric concentration of dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), the most abundant of these, is increasing rapidly. Finally, we present evidence that VSLS have made a small yet previously unrecognized contribution to the ozone-driven radiative forcing of climate since pre-industrial times of -0.02 (-0.01 to -0.03) Wm-2. Given the climate leverage that VSLS possess, future increases to their emissions, either through continued industrial or altered natural processes, may be important for future climate forcing.

A cross-sectional prevalence study of ethnically targeted and general audience outdoor obesity-related advertising.

PubMed

Yancey, Antronette K; Cole, Brian L; Brown, Rochelle; Williams, Jerome D; Hillier, Amy; Kline, Randolph S; Ashe, Marice; Grier, Sonya A; Backman, Desiree; McCarthy, William J

2009-03-01

Commercial marketing is a critical but understudied element of the sociocultural environment influencing Americans' food and beverage preferences and purchases. This marketing also likely influences the utilization of goods and services related to physical activity and sedentary behavior. A growing literature documents the targeting of racial/ethnic and income groups in commercial advertisements in magazines, on billboards, and on television that may contribute to sociodemographic disparities in obesity and chronic disease risk and protective behaviors. This article examines whether African Americans, Latinos, and people living in low-income neighborhoods are disproportionately exposed to advertisements for high-calorie, low nutrient-dense foods and beverages and for sedentary entertainment and transportation and are relatively underexposed to advertising for nutritious foods and beverages and goods and services promoting physical activities. Outdoor advertising density and content were compared in zip code areas selected to offer contrasts by area income and ethnicity in four cities: Los Angeles, Austin, New York City, and Philadelphia. Large variations were observed in the amount, type, and value of advertising in the selected zip code areas. Living in an upper-income neighborhood, regardless of its residents' predominant ethnicity, is generally protective against exposure to most types of obesity-promoting outdoor advertising (food, fast food, sugary beverages, sedentary entertainment, and transportation). The density of advertising varied by zip code area race/ethnicity, with African American zip code areas having the highest advertising densities, Latino zip code areas having slightly lower densities, and white zip code areas having the lowest densities. The potential health and economic implications of differential exposure to obesity-related advertising are substantial. Although substantive legal questions remain about the government's ability to regulate advertising, the success of limiting tobacco advertising offers lessons for reducing the marketing contribution to the obesigenicity of urban environments.

Perspectives on prevention of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes: a qualitative study of Hispanic, African-American and White women.

PubMed

Tang, Joyce W; Foster, Krys E; Pumarino, Javiera; Ackermann, Ronald T; Peaceman, Alan M; Cameron, Kenzie A

2015-07-01

Women with gestational diabetes (GDM) have a fivefold higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Furthermore, Hispanic and African-American women are disproportionately affected by GDM, but their views on prevention of T2DM after gestational diabetes are largely unknown. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 women (8 Hispanic, 8 African-American, 7 non-Hispanic White) from two academic clinics in Chicago, IL. Interview questions elicited perspectives on prevention of T2DM; the interview protocol was developed based on the Health Belief Model. Two investigators applied template analysis to identify emergent themes. Women conceptualized risk for T2DM based on family history, health behaviors, and personal history of GDM. A subgroup of women expressed uncertainty about how GDM influences risk for T2DM. Women who described a strong link between GDM and T2DM often viewed the diagnosis as a cue to action for behavior change. T2DM was widely viewed as a severe condition, and desire to avoid T2DM was an important motivator for behavior change. Children represented both a key motivator and critical barrier to behavior change. Women viewed preventive care as important to alert them to potential health concerns. Identified themes were congruent across racial/ethnic groups. Diagnosis with GDM presents a potent opportunity for engaging women in behavior change. To fully harness the potential influence of this diagnosis, healthcare providers should more clearly link the diagnosis of GDM with risk for future T2DM, leverage women's focus on their children to motivate behavior change, and provide support with behavior change during healthcare visits in the postpartum period and beyond.

Heterogeneous Effects of Birth Spacing on Neonatal Mortality Risks in Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Molitoris, Joseph

2018-01-01

Abstract The negative relationship between birth interval length and neonatal mortality risks is well documented, but heterogeneity in this relationship has been largely ignored. Using the Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Health Care Survey 2010, this study investigates how the effect of birth interval length on neonatal mortality risks varies by maternal age at birth and maternal education. There is significant variation in the effect of interval length on neonatal mortality along these dimensions. Young mothers and those with little education, both of which make up a large share of the Bangladeshi population, can disproportionately benefit from longer intervals. Because these results were obtained from within‐family models, they are not due to unobservable heterogeneity between mothers. Targeting women with these characteristics may lead to significant improvements in neonatal mortality rates, but there are significant challenges in reaching them. PMID:29508949

Painful sexual intercourse caused by a disproportionately long penis: an historical note on a remarkable treatment devised by Guilhelmius Fabricius Hildanus (1560-1634).

PubMed

Kompanje, Erwin J O

2006-10-01

Between 1598 and 1641, the famous surgeon Guilhelmius Fabricius Hildanus (1560-1634) published 600 medical and surgical observations in his Observationum et curationum chirurgicarum centuriae I-VI. One of the case reports bears the title 'Pain and infertility caused by a too large penis.' The woman described in this case report most likely suffered from positional deep dyspareunia. Hildanus invented in 1593 a remarkable made-to-measure device. This device was a very well-considered and faultless curative for the woman's dyspareunia. It seemed that the dyspareunia had a simple cause: the disproportional large penis of the woman's husband. Four hundred years later, Hildanus' forgotten penis shortening device deserves a resurrection in today's medical practice. This remarkable and almost forgotten case report is described and discussed.

A Holistic Approach to Addressing HIV Infection Disparities in Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halkitis, Perry N.; Wolitski, Richard J.; Millett, Gregorio A.

2013-01-01

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have been disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic in the United States and in many other parts of the world. The HIV epidemic is inextricably tied to other health problems that disproportionately affect gay, bisexual, and other MSM including…

Environmental Assessment for Construction of Radial Arm Spill Gates MacDill Air Force Base, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-01

requires that Federal agencies identify and assess environmental health and safety risks that might disproportionately affect children. The Proposed...Action would not pose any adverse or disproportionate environmental health or safety risks to children living near the base. Safety precautions...Department of Envir. Protection 3900 Commonwealth Blvd, Mail Station 47 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000 RE: Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft

Environmental Assessment for Construction of Multiple Roadway Improvement Projects MacDill AFB, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

flooded) is within tidal areas and occurs mainly on mangrove areas . These soils are subject to Affected Environment Environmental Assessment for...requires that Federal agencies identify and assess environmental health and safety risks that might disproportionately affect children. The Proposed...Action would not pose any adverse or disproportionate environmental health or safety risks to children living near the base. Safety precautions

Final Environmental Assessment for Constructing a Magnet School at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

agencies on the human health and environmental conditions in minority and low-income populations. Environmental justice analyses are performed to identify...potential disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects from proposed federal actions on minority or low-income populations...considered to assess the potential for disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects from proposed action on these

Environmental equity and the conservation of unique ecosystems: an analysis of the distribution of benefits for protecting Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests

Treesearch

Joseph E. Aldy; Randall A. Kramer; Thomas P. Holmes

1999-01-01

Some critics in the environmental equity literature argue that low-income populations disproportionately have environmental risks, while the wealthy and better educated gain disproportionately from protecting unique ecosystems. The authors test this hypothesis in an analysis of the decline of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests. They calculate willingness-to-pay...

Kinetic and Mechanistic Aspects of the Reactions of Iodide and Hypoiodous Acid with Permanganate: Oxidation and Disproportionation.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiaodan; Salhi, Elisabeth; Liu, Huiling; Ma, Jun; von Gunten, Urs

2016-04-19

Oxidation kinetics of iodide and HOI/OI(-) by permanganate were studied in the pH range of 5.0-10.0. Iodide oxidation and iodate formation were faster at lower pH. The apparent second-order rate constants (k(obs)) for iodide oxidation by permanganate decrease with increasing pH from 29 M(-1) s(-1) at pH 5.0 and 6.9 M(-1) s(-1) at pH 7.0 to 2.7 M(-1) s(-1) at pH 10.0. k(obs) for HOI abatement are 56 M(-1) s(-1) at pH 5.0, 2.5 M(-1) s(-1) at pH 7.0, and 173 M(-1) s(-1) at pH 10.0. Iodate yields over HOI abatement decrease from 98% at pH 6.0 to 33% for pH ≥ 9.5, demonstrating that HOI disproportionation dominates HOI transformation by permanganate at pH ≥ 8.0. MnO2 formed as a product from permanganate reduction, oxidizes HOI to iodate for pH < 8.0, and promotes HOI disproportionation for pH ≥ 8.0. The rate of HOI oxidation or disproportionation induced by MnO2 is much lower than for permanganate. During treatment of iodide-containing waters, the potential for iodinated disinfection byproducts (I-DBPs) formation is highest at pH 7.0-8.0 due to the long lifetime of HOI. For pH < 6.0, HOI/I2 is quickly oxidized by permanganate to iodate, whereas for pH ≥ 8.0, HOI/OI(-) undergoes a fast permanganate-mediated disproportionation.

Bacterial Disproportionation of Elemental Sulfur Coupled to Chemical Reduction of Iron or Manganese

PubMed Central

Thamdrup, Bo; Finster, Kai; Hansen, Jens Würgler; Bak, Friedhelm

1993-01-01

A new chemolithotrophic bacterial metabolism was discovered in anaerobic marine enrichment cultures. Cultures in defined medium with elemental sulfur (S0) and amorphous ferric hydroxide (FeOOH) as sole substrates showed intense formation of sulfate. Furthermore, precipitation of ferrous sulfide and pyrite was observed. The transformations were accompanied by growth of slightly curved, rod-shaped bacteria. The quantification of the products revealed that S0 was microbially disproportionated to sulfate and sulfide, as follows: 4S0 + 4H2O → SO42- + 3H2S + 2H+. Subsequent chemical reactions between the formed sulfide and the added FeOOH led to the observed precipitation of iron sulfides. Sulfate and iron sulfides were also produced when FeOOH was replaced by FeCO3. Further enrichment with manganese oxide, MnO2, instead of FeOOH yielded stable cultures which formed sulfate during concomitant reduction of MnO2 to Mn2+. Growth of small rod-shaped bacteria was observed. When incubated without MnO2, the culture did not grow but produced small amounts of SO42- and H2S at a ratio of 1:3, indicating again a disproportionation of S0. The observed microbial disproportionation of S0 only proceeds significantly in the presence of sulfide-scavenging agents such as iron and manganese compounds. The population density of bacteria capable of S0 disproportionation in the presence of FeOOH or MnO2 was high, > 104 cm-3 in coastal sediments. The metabolism offers an explanation for recent observations of anaerobic sulfide oxidation to sulfate in anoxic sediments. PMID:16348835

Partitioning heritability by functional annotation using genome-wide association summary statistics.

PubMed

Finucane, Hilary K; Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan; Gusev, Alexander; Trynka, Gosia; Reshef, Yakir; Loh, Po-Ru; Anttila, Verneri; Xu, Han; Zang, Chongzhi; Farh, Kyle; Ripke, Stephan; Day, Felix R; Purcell, Shaun; Stahl, Eli; Lindstrom, Sara; Perry, John R B; Okada, Yukinori; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Daly, Mark J; Patterson, Nick; Neale, Benjamin M; Price, Alkes L

2015-11-01

Recent work has demonstrated that some functional categories of the genome contribute disproportionately to the heritability of complex diseases. Here we analyze a broad set of functional elements, including cell type-specific elements, to estimate their polygenic contributions to heritability in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of 17 complex diseases and traits with an average sample size of 73,599. To enable this analysis, we introduce a new method, stratified LD score regression, for partitioning heritability from GWAS summary statistics while accounting for linked markers. This new method is computationally tractable at very large sample sizes and leverages genome-wide information. Our findings include a large enrichment of heritability in conserved regions across many traits, a very large immunological disease-specific enrichment of heritability in FANTOM5 enhancers and many cell type-specific enrichments, including significant enrichment of central nervous system cell types in the heritability of body mass index, age at menarche, educational attainment and smoking behavior.

A large-scale circuit mechanism for hierarchical dynamical processing in the primate cortex

PubMed Central

Chaudhuri, Rishidev; Knoblauch, Kenneth; Gariel, Marie-Alice; Kennedy, Henry; Wang, Xiao-Jing

2015-01-01

We developed a large-scale dynamical model of the macaque neocortex, which is based on recently acquired directed- and weighted-connectivity data from tract-tracing experiments, and which incorporates heterogeneity across areas. A hierarchy of timescales naturally emerges from this system: sensory areas show brief, transient responses to input (appropriate for sensory processing), whereas association areas integrate inputs over time and exhibit persistent activity (suitable for decision-making and working memory). The model displays multiple temporal hierarchies, as evidenced by contrasting responses to visual versus somatosensory stimulation. Moreover, slower prefrontal and temporal areas have a disproportionate impact on global brain dynamics. These findings establish a circuit mechanism for “temporal receptive windows” that are progressively enlarged along the cortical hierarchy, suggest an extension of time integration in decision-making from local to large circuits, and should prompt a re-evaluation of the analysis of functional connectivity (measured by fMRI or EEG/MEG) by taking into account inter-areal heterogeneity. PMID:26439530

Skeletal advance and arrest in giant non-metamorphosing African clawed frog tadpoles (Xenopus laevis: Daudin)

PubMed Central

Kerney, Ryan; Wassersug, Richard; Hall, Brian K

2010-01-01

This study examines the skeletons of giant non-metamorphosing (GNM) Xenopus laevis tadpoles, which arrest their development indefinitely before metamorphosis, and grow to excessively large sizes in the absence of detectable thyroid glands. Cartilage growth is isometric; however, chondrocyte size is smaller in GNM tadpoles than in controls. Most cartilages stain weakly with alcian blue, and several cartilages are calcified (unlike controls). However, cartilages subjacent to periosteum-derived bone retain strong affinities for alcian blue, indicating a role for periosteum-derived bone in the retention of glycosaminoglycans during protracted larval growth. Bone formation in the head, limb, and axial skeletons is advanced in comparison with stage-matched controls, but arrests at various mid-metamorphic states. Both dermal and periosteum-derived bones grow to disproportionately large sizes in comparison to controls. Additionally, mature monocuspid teeth form in several GNM tadpoles. Advances in skeletal development are attributable to the old ages and large sizes of these tadpoles, and reveal unexpected developmental potentials of the pre-metamorphic skeleton. PMID:20402828

Humans and seasonal climate variability threaten large-bodied coral reef fish with small ranges

PubMed Central

Mellin, C.; Mouillot, D.; Kulbicki, M.; McClanahan, T. R.; Vigliola, L.; Bradshaw, C. J. A.; Brainard, R. E.; Chabanet, P.; Edgar, G. J.; Fordham, D. A.; Friedlander, A. M.; Parravicini, V.; Sequeira, A. M. M.; Stuart-Smith, R. D.; Wantiez, L.; Caley, M. J.

2016-01-01

Coral reefs are among the most species-rich and threatened ecosystems on Earth, yet the extent to which human stressors determine species occurrences, compared with biogeography or environmental conditions, remains largely unknown. With ever-increasing human-mediated disturbances on these ecosystems, an important question is not only how many species can inhabit local communities, but also which biological traits determine species that can persist (or not) above particular disturbance thresholds. Here we show that human pressure and seasonal climate variability are disproportionately and negatively associated with the occurrence of large-bodied and geographically small-ranging fishes within local coral reef communities. These species are 67% less likely to occur where human impact and temperature seasonality exceed critical thresholds, such as in the marine biodiversity hotspot: the Coral Triangle. Our results identify the most sensitive species and critical thresholds of human and climatic stressors, providing opportunity for targeted conservation intervention to prevent local extinctions. PMID:26839155

Sexual Identity, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Suicidal Behaviors.

PubMed

Clements-Nolle, Kristen; Lensch, Taylor; Baxa, Amberlee; Gay, Christopher; Larson, Sandra; Yang, Wei

2018-02-01

The objective of this study was to examine the influence of sexual identity and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on suicidal behaviors in a population-based sample of high school students. A two-stage cluster random sampling design was used to recruit 5,108 students from 97 high schools. A total of 4,955 students (97%) provided information that allowed for classification of sexual identity into three groups: (1) lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) (10%); (2) not sure (4.6%); and (3) heterosexual (85.4%). Five measures of childhood abuse and household dysfunction were summed, and the ACE score was categorized as 0, 1, 2, and 3-5 ACEs. Weighted logistic regression was used to assess the influence of sexual identity, ACEs, and their interaction on suicide ideation and attempts in the past 12 months. Compared with heterosexual students, those who were LGB and were not sure had higher odds of suicide ideation and attempts. There was also a graded relationship between cumulative ACE exposure and suicidal behaviors. Although sexual identity/ACE interaction was not observed, LGB/not sure students who experienced a high number of ACEs were disproportionately affected. Compared with heterosexual students with 0 ACE, LGB/not sure students with 0 ACE (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.96-5.61), 1 ACE (AOR = 6.58, 95% CI = 4.05-10.71), 2 ACEs (AOR 13.50, 95% CI = 8.45-21.58), and 3-5 ACEs (AOR = 14.04, 95% CI = 8.72, 22.62) had higher odds of suicide ideation. A similar pattern was observed for suicide attempts. LGB and students not sure of their sexual identity with greater exposure to ACEs have disproportionately high levels of suicide ideation and attempts. Trauma-informed interventions for these populations are warranted. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dental utilization by active duty Army personnel.

PubMed

Chisick, M C

1993-10-01

In spring 1989, a random, Army-wide sample of 15,364 enlisted and 4,529 officer personnel was surveyed on dental utilization. Results show no difference in annual dental utilization between officer and enlisted personnel when age is controlled. Because annual dental utilization increases with age and enlisted ranks contain a disproportionately large number of younger personnel, a difference in annual dental utilization between enlisted and officer personnel emerges when age is not controlled. Check-ups are the most common reason for dental visits. Nearly all soldiers seek care exclusively in military dental clinics. Non-use is highest among 18- to 19-year-olds (12.2%).

Malicious Hubs: Detecting Abnormally Malicious Autonomous Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kalafut, Andrew J.; Shue, Craig A; Gupta, Prof. Minaxi

While many attacks are distributed across botnets, investigators and network operators have recently targeted malicious networks through high profile autonomous system (AS) de-peerings and network shut-downs. In this paper, we explore whether some ASes indeed are safe havens for malicious activity. We look for ISPs and ASes that exhibit disproportionately high malicious behavior using 12 popular blacklists. We find that some ASes have over 80% of their routable IP address space blacklisted and others account for large fractions of blacklisted IPs. Overall, we conclude that examining malicious activity at the AS granularity can unearth networks with lax security or thosemore » that harbor cybercrime.« less

Obesity utilization and health-related quality of life in Medicare enrollees.

PubMed

Malinoff, Rochelle L; Elliott, Marc N; Giordano, Laura A; Grace, Susan C; Burroughs, James N

2013-01-01

The obese, with disproportionate chronic disease incidence, consume a large share of health care resources and drive up per capita Medicare spending. This study examined the prevalence of obesity and its association with health status, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), function, and outpatient utilization among Medicare Advantage seniors. Results indicate that obese beneficiaries, much more than overweight beneficiaries, have poorer health, functions, and HRQOL than normal weight beneficiaries and have substantially higher outpatient utilization. While weight loss is beneficial to both the overweight and obese, the markedly worse health status and high utilization of obese beneficiaries may merit particular attention.

Understanding the recent growth in Medicaid spending, 2000-2003.

PubMed

Holahan, John; Ghosh, Arunabh

2005-01-01

Growth in Medicaid spending averaged 10.2 percent per year between 2000 and 2003, resulting in a one-third increase in program spending. Spending growth was lower from 2002 to 2003 because of slower growth in enrollment and in spending per enrollee, particularly for acute care services, and declines in disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) payments and upper payment limit (UPL) programs. For the entire 2000-2003 period, Medicaid spending increases were largely driven by enrollment growth, much of which was attributable to the economic downturn. Increases in spending per enrollee over the period were faster than inflation but slower than increases in private insurance spending.

Orofacial manifestations of achondroplasia

PubMed Central

Rohilla, Smriti; Kaushik, Atul; Vinod, V.C.; Tanwar, Renu; Kumar, Munish

2012-01-01

Achondroplasia (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man [OMIM] 100800), is considered as a form of skeletal dysplasia dwarfism that manifests with stunted stature and disproportionate limb shortening. Achondroplasia is of special interest in the field of dentistry because of its characteristic craniofacial features which include relative macrocephaly, depressed nasal bridge and maxillary hypoplasia. Presence of large head, implanted shunt, airway obstruction and difficulty in head control requires special precautions during dental management. The current case report highlights the orofacial manifestations of Achondroplasia in a young pediatric patient, along with the multidisciplinary treatment (including the dental treatment) done for the patient which also might help the general practitioners in better understanding of the condition. PMID:27298609

New strategies for innovation in global health: a pharmaceutical industry perspective.

PubMed

Witty, Andrew

2011-01-01

Diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries play a large role in stalling economic and social development. Pharmaceutical companies are driving crucial research into new vaccines and medicines; however, although there is an imperative for industry to research new therapies for diseases of the poor, the financial returns are often seen as limited. This is beginning to change. The pharmaceutical industry and the public sector are thinking differently than before about how to improve access to medicines and advance research and development for neglected diseases. The public and private sectors must work together to develop a wide range of innovative tools, partnerships, and approaches.

Barriers to HPV Vaccination Among Unvaccinated, Haitian American College Women

PubMed Central

Pierre-Victor, Dudith; Stephens, Dionne P.; Omondi, Angela; Clarke, Rachel; Jean-Baptiste, Naomie; Madhivanan, Purnima

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: Haitian women residing in the United States are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been licensed in the United States since 2006. Vaccination rates are less than optimal overall, and the rates are particularly low among young black women. We investigated barriers to HPV vaccination in a sample of Haitian American college women. Methods: Thirty self-identified Haitian American women, aged 17−26 years, were recruited from a large university campus in southeastern United States (n=30). They completed in-depth face-to-face interviews. The research team analyzed the transcripts using thematic analysis. Results: More than half of the participants (n=18) had not yet initiated the HPV vaccine series. Most of the unvaccinated participants stated that they had received a provider recommendation for the vaccine. Lack of provider recommendation, negative vaccine perception and attitudes, and side effect concerns constituted barriers to vaccination. Conclusions: Haitian American college women at high risk of cervical cancer have cited several barriers to HPV vaccination, with the most prominent being lack of physician recommendation. Healthcare providers should continue recommending the vaccine to college women as many of them may not have received a recommendation. When recommending the HPV vaccine, discussions should be framed with the intent to positively influence HPV vaccine perceptions and ultimately vaccine attitudes. PMID:29904749

Patterns of methadone maintenance treatment provision in Ontario: Policy success or pendulum excess?

PubMed

Kurdyak, Paul; Jacob, Binu; Zaheer, Juveria; Fischer, Benedikt

2018-02-01

To describe recent trends and patterns in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) practice regionally and over time in the province of Ontario. Population-based descriptive study using health administrative data between September 1, 2011, and December 31, 2014. Ontario. All active MMT-prescribing physicians and patients receiving MMT in the study period. Characteristics of MMT-prescribing physicians, including age, sex, specialty type, practice region, and practice volume; characteristics of patients receiving MMT, including age, sex, neighbourhood income, and region of residence. Between September 1, 2011, and December 31, 2014, the number of MMT-prescribing physicians and patients who received MMT increased by 26% and 42%, respectively. In 2014, there was a total of 312 MMT-prescribing physicians and 49 703 patients receiving MMT. In 2014 and on a per capita basis, patients receiving MMT were more prevalent in rural regions; and within rural regions, there were disproportionately large numbers of young female MMT patients residing in low-income neighbourhoods. The number of physicians prescribing MMT and patients receiving MMT has increased substantially between 2011 and 2014, with the largest per capita distribution occurring in rural regions and involving young adults. While availability of and access to MMT has improved considerably from before 2000 to levels of high use, these developments are likely influenced by recent trends in the proliferation of prescription opioid misuse across general populations. Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Random myosin loss along thick-filaments increases myosin attachment time and the proportion of bound myosin heads to mitigate force decline in skeletal muscle

PubMed Central

Tanner, Bertrand C.W.; McNabb, Mark; Palmer, Bradley M.; Toth, Michael J.; Miller, Mark S.

2014-01-01

Diminished skeletal muscle performance with aging, disuse, and disease may be partially attributed to the loss of myofilament proteins. Several laboratories have found a disproportionate loss of myosin protein content relative to other myofilament proteins, but due to methodological limitations, the structural manifestation of this protein loss is unknown. To investigate how variations in myosin content affect ensemble cross-bridge behavior and force production we simulated muscle contraction in the half-sarcomere as myosin was removed either i) uniformly, from the Z-line end of thick-filaments, or ii) randomly, along the length of thick-filaments. Uniform myosin removal decreased force production, showing a slightly steeper force-to-myosin content relationship than the 1:1 relationship that would be expected from the loss of cross-bridges. Random myosin removal also decreased force production, but this decrease was less than observed with uniform myosin loss, largely due to increased myosin attachment time (ton) and fractional cross-bridge binding with random myosin loss. These findings support our prior observations that prolonged ton may augment force production in single fibers with randomly reduced myosin content from chronic heart failure patients. These simulation also illustrate that the pattern of myosin loss along thick-filaments influences ensemble cross-bridge behavior and maintenance of force throughout the sarcomere. PMID:24486373

Biogeographic patterns of desert springs in the Great Basin with an emphasis on regional aquifer thermal springs as refugia for vulnerable crenobiotic species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forrest, M.; Sada, D. W.; Norris, R. D.

2013-12-01

The desert springs of the Great Basin Region in western North America provide ideal systems to study biogeographic and evolutionary patterns. In arid regions, springs are biodiversity hotspots because they often provide the sole source of water for the biota within and around them. In the Great Basin, springs provide critical habitat for diverse and extensive crenobiotic flora and fauna comprising over 125 endemic species. These aquatic environments represent island ecosystems surrounded by seas of desert, and researchers have compiled large databases of their biota and chemistry. Consequently, desert springs are excellent systems for biogeographic studies and multivariate statistical analyses of relationships between the chemical and physical characteristics of the springs and the biological communities that they support. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationships between the physicochemical characteristics of springs and their biota using multivariate statistical analyses to characterize 1325 springs, including regional aquifer springs, local aquifer cold springs and geothermal springs. The analyses reveal that regional aquifer thermal springs harbor disproportionate numbers of crenobiotic species including endemic gastropods, fishes, and aquatic insects. However, these regional aquifer springs also contain significantly more introduced species than cold and geothermal local aquifer springs. Springs are threatened by anthropogenic impacts including groundwater depletion and pollution, alteration of flow regimes, and the introduction of exotic species. In this study, one of the major factors that distinguished regional aquifer thermal springs from cold and geothermal local aquifer springs was the higher number of introduced species found in regional aquifer springs. This may be due to the influences of the same physicochemical characteristics that allow regional aquifer springs to serve as refugia for endemic species--species that are able to gain access to these environments and cope with their extreme physicochemical characteristics may be provided with refuge from extinction. The disproportionate number of endemic crenobiotic species found in regional aquifer thermal springs, as well as in some local aquifer geothermal springs, within the Great Basin strongly suggests that these hydrothermal habitats represent important biodiversity hotspots, and efforts to conserve and restore these unique ecosystems should be a major priority to ensure that the valuable information that these species can provide is not lost forever.

Atmospheric turbulence triggers pronounced diel pattern in karst carbonate geochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roland, M.; Serrano-Ortiz, P.; Kowalski, A. S.; Goddéris, Y.; Sánchez-Cañete, E. P.; Ciais, P.; Domingo, F.; Cuezva, S.; Sanchez-Moral, S.; Longdoz, B.; Yakir, D.; Van Grieken, R.; Schott, J.; Cardell, C.; Janssens, I. A.

2013-07-01

CO2 exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere is key to understanding the feedbacks between climate change and the land surface. In regions with carbonaceous parent material, CO2 exchange patterns occur that cannot be explained by biological processes, such as disproportionate outgassing during the daytime or nighttime CO2 uptake during periods when all vegetation is senescent. Neither of these phenomena can be attributed to carbonate weathering reactions, since their CO2 exchange rates are too small. Soil ventilation induced by high atmospheric turbulence is found to explain atypical CO2 exchange between carbonaceous systems and the atmosphere. However, by strongly altering subsurface CO2 concentrations, ventilation can be expected to influence carbonate weathering rates. By imposing ventilation-driven CO2 outgassing in a carbonate weathering model, we show here that carbonate geochemistry is accelerated and does play a surprisingly large role in the observed CO2 exchange pattern of a semi-arid ecosystem. We found that by rapidly depleting soil CO2 during the daytime, ventilation disturbs soil carbonate equilibria and therefore strongly magnifies daytime carbonate precipitation and associated CO2 production. At night, ventilation ceases and the depleted CO2 concentrations increase steadily. Dissolution of carbonate is now enhanced, which consumes CO2 and largely compensates for the enhanced daytime carbonate precipitation. This is why only a relatively small effect on global carbonate weathering rates is to be expected. On the short term, however, ventilation has a drastic effect on synoptic carbonate weathering rates, resulting in a pronounced diel pattern that exacerbates the non-biological behavior of soil-atmosphere CO2 exchanges in dry regions with carbonate soils.

A quantitative synthesis of the role of birds in carrying ticks and tick-borne pathogens in North America.

PubMed

Loss, Scott R; Noden, Bruce H; Hamer, Gabriel L; Hamer, Sarah A

2016-12-01

Birds play a central role in the ecology of tick-borne pathogens. They expand tick populations and pathogens across vast distances and serve as reservoirs that maintain and amplify transmission locally. Research into the role of birds for supporting ticks and tick-borne pathogens has largely been descriptive and focused in small areas. To expand inference beyond these studies, we conducted a quantitative review at the scale of North America to identify avian life history correlates of tick infestation and pathogen prevalence, calculate species-level indices of importance for carrying ticks, and identify research gaps limiting understanding of tick-borne pathogen transmission. Across studies, 78 of 162 bird species harbored ticks, yielding an infestation prevalence of 1981 of 38,929 birds (5.1 %). Avian foraging and migratory strategies interacted to influence infestation. Ground-foraging species, especially non-migratory ground foragers, were disproportionately likely to have high prevalence and intensity of tick infestation. Studies largely focused on Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, and non-migratory ground foragers were especially likely to carry B. burgdorferi-infected ticks, a finding that highlights the potential importance of resident birds in local pathogen transmission. Based on infestation indices, all "super-carrier" bird species were passerines. Vast interior areas of North America, many bird and tick species, and most tick-borne pathogens, remain understudied, and research is needed to address these gaps. More studies are needed that quantify tick host preferences, host competence, and spatiotemporal variation in pathogen prevalence and vector and host abundance. This information is crucial for predicting pathogen transmission dynamics under future global change.

Waterbird use of saltmarsh ponds created for open marsh water management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Erwin, R.M.; Hatfield, J.S.; Howe, M.A.; Klugman, S.K.

1994-01-01

Open Marsh Water Management (OMWM) as an alternative to pesticides for mosquito control in saltmarshes along the Atlantic Coast has created debate among biologists. We designed an experiment to determine waterbird (American black duck (Anas rubripes) and other waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, gulls, and terns) use (during daylight) of ponds created for mosquito control compared with use of pre-existing water bodies (i.e., natural tidal ponds, creeks, old ditches) and refuge impoundments. We also evaluated the influence of pond size and depth on waterbird use of wetlands. We documented bird use of different habitats for 1 year. The highest densities of waterfowl, in autumn, occurred in 0.030.06ha ponds (P lt 0.05) versus ponds either lt 0.02 ha or gt 0.08 ha; highest shorebird densities occurred in summer in ponds gt 0.10 ha (P lt 0.05). Pond depth affected shorebird and other waterfowl use in some seasons. Comparisons of mean number of birds using created (OMWM) ponds with mean number of birds using other water bodies revealed that most species showed no pattern (P gt 0.05) of disproportionate use versus availability. At high tidal levels, most species groups used OMWM ponds in the marsh more often (P lt 0.05) than other water bodies. Black ducks and other waterfowl used nearby refuge impoundments in higher densities than they did OMWM ponds, for nesting and during autumn-winter (all Ps lt 0.05). Creating small ( lt 0.1 ha) ponds for mosquito control does not enhance waterbird habitat, at least not where large impoundments are in close proximity. We recommend that in areas where OMWM practices seem appropriate, fewer large ( gt 0.10 ha) ponds be constructed with shallow ( lt 15 cm) basins and sloping sides.

Designing marine reserves to reflect local socioeconomic conditions: lessons from long-enduring customary management systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cinner, J. E.

2007-12-01

Coral reef conservation strategies such as marine protected areas have met limited success in many developing countries. Some researchers attribute part of these shortcomings to inadequate attention to the social context of conserving marine resources. To gain insights into applying Western conservation theory more successfully in the socioeconomic context of developing countries, this study examines how long-enduring, customary reef closures appear to reflect local socioeconomic conditions in two Papua New Guinean communities. Attributes of the customary management (including size, shape, permanence, and gear restrictions) are examined in relation to prevailing socioeconomic conditions (including resource users’ ability to switch gears, fishing grounds, and occupations). Customary closures in the two communities appear to reflect local socioeconomic circumstances in three ways. First, in situations where people can readily switch between occupations, full closures are acceptable with periodic harvests to benefit from the closure. In comparison, communities with high dependence on the marine resources are more conducive to employing strategies that restrict certain gear types while still allowing others. Second, where there is multiple clan and family spatial ownership of resources, the communities have one closure per clan/family; one large no-take area would have disproportionate affect on those compared to the rest of the community. In contrast, communities that have joint ownership can establish one large closure as long as there are other areas available to harvest. Third, historical and trade relationships with neighboring communities can influence regulations by creating the need for occasional harvests to provide fish for feasts. This study further demonstrates the importance of understanding the socioeconomic context of factors such as community governance and levels of dependence for the conservation of marine resources.

The proposed 9th planet of Solar System at a distance less than 1000AU is absent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidmachenko, A. P.

2017-05-01

In 2016 Brown and Batygin reported about indirect evidence of the existence of so far unknown ninth planet in the Solar system. They suggested, that orbits of 6 known trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) of scattered disk are oriented so, that they can be influenced by a large, yet unknown body. We draw attention to the fact, that these 6 objects in close to their discovering moments were located at perihelion. We assume that for many orders of magnitude a larger number of the same TNOs should be located at a greater distance from the perihelion. Therefore, a possible number of the same TNOs should be counted in many thousands. We used the observation data obtained by Space Telescope (WISE). It was established that there is no analogue of the giant planet Saturn at distances up to 30000 AU. This circumstance allowed us to calculate that at distances up to 1000 AU it would be clearly visible planetary body with a radius of more than 11000 km. That is, a planet with a possible mass of about 10 Earth masses and an "earth" density (5.52 t/m3). If we take into account that the density of the "average" TNO differs little from 2 t/m3, the radius of such a body will increase to 19200 km. And then the limit of detection of the body will increase by almost 4 times: up to 4000 AU. (!) Thus, either unknown 9th planet is now even further, or our results cannot be directly scaled for the planet "Super-Earth", which at such large distance can have a disproportionately low source of internal heat.

The Influence of Forward and Backward Associative Strength on False Memories for Encoding Context

PubMed Central

Arndt, Jason

2016-01-01

Two experiments examined the effects of Forward Associative Strength (FAS) and Backward Associative Strength (FAS) on false recollection of unstudied lure items. Themes were constructed such that four associates were strongly related to a lure item in terms of FAS or BAS and four associates were weakly related to a lure item in terms of FAS or BAS. Further, when FAS was manipulated, BAS was controlled across strong and weak associates, while FAS was controlled across strong and weak associates when BAS was manipulated. Strong associates were presented in one font while weak associates were presented in a second font. At test, lure items were disproportionately attributed to the source used to present lures’ strong associates compared to lures’ weak associates, both when BAS was manipulated and when FAS was manipulated. This outcome demonstrates that both BAS and FAS influence lure item false recollection, which favors global-matching models’ explanation of false recollection over the explanation offered by spreading-activation theories. PMID:25312499

Protective Parenting, Relationship Power Equity, and Condom Use Among Rural African American Emerging Adult Women

PubMed Central

Kogan, Steven M.; Simons, Leslie G.; Chen, Yifu; Burwell, Stephanie; Brody, Gene H.

2012-01-01

Sexually transmitted infections disproportionately affect African Americans, particularly young women. The influence of a set of interrelated protective parenting processes—instrumental and emotional support, sexual risk communication, and encouragement of goals for employment or education—on emerging adult women was examined. Parenting was hypothesized to affect consistent condom use through its association with women’s reports of power equity in their intimate relationships. Hypotheses were tested with 135 sexually active women 18 to 21 years of age living in rural southern communities. Structural equation modeling indicated that (a) parenting processes predicted women’s self-reported relationship power equity and consistent condom use, and (b) relationship power equity predicted consistent condom use. Limited support emerged for a mediational role of relationship power equity in explaining the influence of parenting on consistent condom use. Parental involvement and young women’s establishment of personal control in their intimate relationships are important goals for sexual risk reduction programs. PMID:23729949

Staged invasions across disparate grasslands: effects of seed provenance, consumers and disturbance on productivity and species richness.

PubMed

Maron, John L; Auge, Harald; Pearson, Dean E; Korell, Lotte; Hensen, Isabell; Suding, Katharine N; Stein, Claudia

2014-04-01

Exotic plant invasions are thought to alter productivity and species richness, yet these patterns are typically correlative. Few studies have experimentally invaded sites and asked how addition of novel species influences ecosystem function and community structure and examined the role of competitors and/or consumers in mediating these patterns. We invaded disturbed and undisturbed subplots in and out of rodent exclosures with seeds of native or exotic species in grasslands in Montana, California and Germany. Seed addition enhanced aboveground biomass and species richness compared with no-seeds-added controls, with exotics having disproportionate effects on productivity compared with natives. Disturbance enhanced the effects of seed addition on productivity and species richness, whereas rodents reduced productivity, but only in Germany and California. Our results demonstrate that experimental introduction of novel species can alter ecosystem function and community structure, but that local filters such as competition and herbivory influence the magnitude of these impacts. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Eutrophication effects on greenhouse gas fluxes from shallow-lake mesocosms override those of climate warming.

PubMed

Davidson, Thomas A; Audet, Joachim; Svenning, Jens-Christian; Lauridsen, Torben L; Søndergaard, Martin; Landkildehus, Frank; Larsen, Søren E; Jeppesen, Erik

2015-12-01

Fresh waters make a disproportionately large contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with shallow lakes being particular hot spots. Given their global prevalence, how GHG fluxes from shallow lakes are altered by climate change may have profound implications for the global carbon cycle. Empirical evidence for the temperature dependence of the processes controlling GHG production in natural systems is largely based on the correlation between seasonal temperature variation and seasonal change in GHG fluxes. However, ecosystem-level GHG fluxes could be influenced by factors, which while varying seasonally with temperature are actually either indirectly related (e.g. primary producer biomass) or largely unrelated to temperature, for instance nutrient loading. Here, we present results from the longest running shallow-lake mesocosm experiment which demonstrate that nutrient concentrations override temperature as a control of both the total and individual GHG flux. Furthermore, testing for temperature treatment effects at low and high nutrient levels separately showed only one, rather weak, positive effect of temperature (CH4 flux at high nutrients). In contrast, at low nutrients, the CO2 efflux was lower in the elevated temperature treatments, with no significant effect on CH4 or N2 O fluxes. Further analysis identified possible indirect effects of temperature treatment. For example, at low nutrient levels, increased macrophyte abundance was associated with significantly reduced fluxes of both CH4 and CO2 for both total annual flux and monthly observation data. As macrophyte abundance was positively related to temperature treatment, this suggests the possibility of indirect temperature effects, via macrophyte abundance, on CH4 and CO2 flux. These findings indicate that fluxes of GHGs from shallow lakes may be controlled more by factors indirectly related to temperature, in this case nutrient concentration and the abundance of primary producers. Thus, at ecosystem scale, response to climate change may not follow predictions based on the temperature dependence of metabolic processes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

‘Sometimes people let love conquer them’: how love, intimacy, and trust in relationships between men who have sex with men influence perceptions of sexual risk and sexual decision-making

PubMed Central

Goldenberg, Tamar; Finneran, Catherine; Andes, Karen L.; Stephenson, Rob

2015-01-01

Men who have sex with men account for a disproportionate burden of HIV incidence in the USA. Although much research has examined the drivers of sexual risk-taking, the emotional contexts in which men make sexual decisions has received little attention. In this three-phase, 10-week longitudinal qualitative study involving 25 gay and bisexual men, we used timeline-based interviews and quantitative web-based diaries about sexual and/or dating partners to examine how emotions influence HIV risk perceptions and sexual decision-making. Participants described love, intimacy, and trust as reducing HIV risk perceptions and facilitating engagement in condomless anal intercourse. Lust was not as linked with risk perceptions, but facilitated non condom-use through an increased willingness to engage in condomless anal intercourse, despite perceptions of risk. Results indicate that gay and bisexual men do not make sexual decisions in an emotional vacuum. Emotions influence perceptions of risk so that they do not necessarily align with biological risk factors. Emotional influences, especially the type and context of emotions, are important to consider to improve HIV prevention efforts among gay and bisexual men. PMID:25465292

Biogeochemical fingerprints of life: earlier analogies with polar ecosystems suggest feasible instrumentation for probing the Galilean moons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chela-Flores, J.; Cicuttin, A.; Crespo, M. L.; Tuniz, C.

2015-07-01

We base our search for the right instrumentation for detecting biosignatures on Europa on the analogy suggested by the recent work on polar ecosystems in the Canadian Arctic at Ellesmere Island. In that location sulphur patches (analogous to the Europan patches) are accumulating on glacial ice lying over saline springs rich in sulphate and sulphide. Their work reinforces earlier analogies in Antarctic ecosystems that are appropriate models for possible habitats that will be explored by the European Space Agency JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission to the Jovian System. Its Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter (JGO) will include orbits around Europa and Ganymede. The Galileo orbital mission discovered surficial patches of non-ice elements on Europa that were widespread and, in some cases possibly endogenous. This suggests the possibility that the observed chemical elements in the exoatmosphere may be from the subsurface ocean. Spatial resolution calculations of Cassidy and co-workers are available, suggesting that the atmospheric S content can be mapped by a neutral mass spectrometer, now included among the selected JUICE instruments. In some cases, large S-fractionations are due to microbial reduction and disproportionation (although sometimes providing a test for ecosystem fingerprints, even though with Sim - Bosak - Ono we maintain that microbial sulphate reduction large sulphur isotope fractionation does not require disproportionation. We address the question of the possible role of oxygen in the Europan ocean. Instrument issues are discussed for measuring stable S-isotope fractionations up to the known limits in natural populations of δ34 ~ -70‰. We state the hypothesis of a Europa anaerobic oceanic population of sulphate reducers and disproportionators that would have the effect of fractionating the sulphate that reaches the low-albedo surficial regions. This hypothesis is compatible with the time-honoured expectation of Kaplan and co-workers (going back to the 1960s) that the distribution range of 32S/34S in analysed extra-terrestrial material appears to be narrower than the isotopic ratio of H, C or N and may be the most reliable for estimating biological effects. In addition, we discuss the necessary instruments that can test our biogenic hypothesis. First of all we hasten to clarify that the last-generation miniaturized mass spectrometer we discuss in the present paper are capable of reaching the required accuracy of ‰ for the all-important measurements with JGO of the thin atmospheres of the icy satellites. To implement the measurements, we single out miniature laser ablation time-of-flight mass spectrometers that are ideal for the forthcoming JUICE probing of the exoatmospheres, ionospheres and, indirectly, surficial low-albedo regions. Ganymede's surface, besides having ancient dark terrains covering about one-third of the total surface, has bright terrains of more recent origin, possibly due to some internal processes, not excluding biological ones. The geochemical test could identify bioindicators on Europa and exclude them on its large neighbour by probing relatively recent bright terrains on Ganymede's Polar Regions.

Disproportionation for growing copper nanowires and their controlled self-assembly facilitated by ligand exchange.

PubMed

Ye, Enyi; Zhang, Shuang-Yuan; Liu, Shuhua; Han, Ming-Yong

2011-03-07

The coating makes the wire bundle: High-quality free-standing copper nanowires have been successfully produced by disproportionation of Cu(+) in oleylamine. This provides an effective way to prepare high-quality copper nanowires, but also enriches synthetic routes to other nanostructures. These copper nanowires can self-assemble by surface ligand exchange of oleylamine with trioctylphosphine. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Kinetic investigation of catalytic disproportionation of superoxide ions in the non-aqueous electrolyte used in Li–air batteries

DOE PAGES

Wang, Qiang; Zheng, Dong; McKinnon, Meaghan E.; ...

2014-10-28

Superoxide reacts with carbonate solvents in Li–air batteries. Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane is found to catalyze a more rapid superoxide (O 2 -) disproportionation reaction than the reaction between superoxide and propylene carbonate (PC). With this catalysis, the negative impact of the reaction between the electrolyte and O 2 -produced by the O 2 reduction can be minimized. A simple kinetic study using ESR spectroscopy was reported to determine reaction orders and rate constants for the reaction between PC and superoxide, and the disproportionation of superoxide catalyzed by Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane and Li ions. As a result, the reactions are found to be first ordermore » and the rate constants are 0.033 s -1 M -1, 0.020 s -1 M -1and 0.67 s -1M -1 for reactions with PC, Li ion and Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, respectively.« less

Trends in the disproportionate burden of work-related traumatic injuries sustained by Latinos.

PubMed

Sears, Jeanne M; Bowman, Stephen M; Silverstein, Barbara A

2012-10-01

Disproportionate occupational injury rates for Latinos are well documented, but there is limited information about whether disparity is increasing over time. This study describes trends in the burden of work-related traumatic injuries sustained by Latinos in Washington State. Washington State Trauma Registry data from 1998 to 2008 were used to model annual change in the odds that a work-related traumatic injury was sustained by a Latino, controlling for demographics, injury-related factors, and Latino representation in the underlying labor force. We found a 5% mean annual increase in the odds that a comparable work-related traumatic injury was sustained by a Latino (P = 0.007). Falls in industrial/mine/quarry locations were the strongest contributor to increasing disparity. Latinos bear an increasingly disproportionate burden of occupational injuries and are less likely to have health insurance coverage aside from workers' compensation.

Walking ATMs and the immigration spillover effect: The link between Latino immigration and robbery victimization.

PubMed

Barranco, Raymond E; Shihadeh, Edward S

2015-07-01

Media reports and prior research suggest that undocumented Latino migrants are disproportionately robbed because they rely on a cash-only economy and they are reluctant to report crimes to law-enforcement (the Walking ATM phenomenon). From this we generate two specific research questions. First, we probe for an immigration spillover effect - defined as increased native and documented Latino robbery victimization due to offenders' inability to distinguish between the statuses of potential victims. Second, we examine the oft-repeated claim that Blacks robbers disproportionately target Latino victims. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 282 counties, results show (1) support for an immigration spillover effect but, (2) no support for the claim that Latinos are disproportionately singled out by Black robbers. We discuss the implications of our findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Excessive and disproportionate advertising in peer-reviewed journals.

PubMed

Friedman, Lee S; Richter, Elihu D

2006-01-01

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has outlined ethical guidelines concerning the advertising practices of peer-reviewed journals that briefly discuss issues of excessive and disproportionate advertising. The authors evaluated these guidelines using quantitative data, assessing the types and frequencies of advertising in 2001 print issues of NEJM and JAMA, two principal members of ICMJE. Advertising ratios (ratio of advertisements to editorial content) were near unity in NEJM and 0.30 in JAMA, compared with reported ratios of 0.15 among low-circulation specialty science journals and 0.80 among high-circulation consumer magazines. In both journals, five corporations placed more than 50% of all display advertisements. The findings suggest a dissonance between the ethical guidelines and the de facto advertising practices of arguably the two most important member journals of the ICMJE. There is a need to define and apply standards for excessive and disproportionate advertising.

Mental illness, violence risk, and race in juvenile detention: implications for disproportionate minority contact.

PubMed

Desai, Rani A; Falzer, Paul R; Chapman, John; Borum, Randy

2012-01-01

Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) is a pervasive problem throughout the juvenile justice system. This article explored whether mental illness may be an explanatory factor in DMC. Data such as measures of violence risk and symptoms of mental illness were taken from intake interviews with 482 detained youth in Connecticut. Results indicated that racial minorities in detention have significantly lower violence risk than Caucasians but are disproportionately represented among detention populations relative to their proportions in the general population. In addition, DMC in these data was not explained by mental illness, seriousness of charges, violence risk, age, or gender. We suggest that mandated efforts to reduce DMC will need to address more than improving behavior or reducing symptoms of mental illness among detained minority youth. Instead, efforts should be focused on reducing the racial disparity evident in decisions made within the juvenile justice system. © 2012 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Familial osteochondritis dissecans associated with early osteoarthritis and disproportionate short stature.

PubMed

Stattin, E-L; Tegner, Y; Domellöf, M; Dahl, N

2008-08-01

Familial osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a rare disorder characterised by disturbed chondro-skeletal development, disproportionate growth and deformation of the skeleton. We identified a five-generation family with 15 living affected members from Northern Sweden. The disorder was diagnosed with a case definition of OCD in at least one joint. Main clinical findings consisted of OCD in knees and/or hips and/or elbows, disproportionate short stature and early osteoarthritis (OA). There were no radiological indications of epiphyseal dysplasia. Anthropometric measurements of affected individuals showed short stature, a high ratio between sitting height and total height, a relatively normal arm span and head circumference. In 12 of 15 cases, onset was during late childhood or adolescence and OA had developed in seven of those patients. Our observation suggests that OA is a frequent complication in familial OCD even though the lesions appear before closure of physis.

Exposure and inequality for select urban air pollutants in the Tampa Bay area.

PubMed

Yu, Haofei; Stuart, Amy L

2016-05-01

Air pollution exposure has been linked to numerous adverse health effects, with some disadvantaged subgroups disproportionately burdened. The objective of this work was to characterize distributions of emissions and concentrations of a few important urban air toxics at high spatiotemporal resolution in order to assess exposure and inequality. Benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde were the focus pollutants, with oxides of nitrogen (NOx) estimated for comparisons. Primary pollutant emissions were estimated for the full spectrum of source types in the Tampa area using a hybrid approach that is most detailed for major roadways and includes hourly variations in vehicle speed. Resultant pollutant concentrations were calculated using the CALPUFF dispersion model, and combined with CMAQ model output to account for secondary formation of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Census demographic data were applied to estimate residential pollution exposures and inequality among population subgroups. Estimated concentrations of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and NOx were generally higher in urban areas and lower in rural areas. Exposures to these pollutants were disproportionately high for subgroups characterized as black, Hispanic and low income (annual household income less than $20,000). For formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, the patterns of concentration and exposure were largely reversed. Results suggest that disparities in exposure depend on pollutant type. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Subtypes of developmental dyslexia: testing the predictions of the dual-route and connectionist frameworks.

PubMed

Peterson, Robin L; Pennington, Bruce F; Olson, Richard K

2013-01-01

We investigated the phonological and surface subtypes of developmental dyslexia in light of competing predictions made by two computational models of single word reading, the Dual-Route Cascaded Model (DRC; Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001) and Harm and Seidenberg's connectionist model (HS model; Harm & Seidenberg, 1999). The regression-outlier procedure was applied to a large sample to identify children with disproportionately poor phonological coding skills (phonological dyslexia) or disproportionately poor orthographic coding skills (surface dyslexia). Consistent with the predictions of the HS model, children with "pure" phonological dyslexia, who did not have orthographic deficits, had milder phonological impairments than children with "relative" phonological dyslexia, who did have secondary orthographic deficits. In addition, pure cases of dyslexia were more common among older children. Consistent with the predictions of the DRC model, surface dyslexia was not well conceptualized as a reading delay; both phonological and surface dyslexia were associated with patterns of developmental deviance. In addition, some results were problematic for both models. We identified a small number of individuals with severe phonological dyslexia, relatively intact orthographic coding skills, and very poor real word reading. Further, a subset of controls could read normally despite impaired orthographic coding. The findings are discussed in terms of improvements to both models that might help better account for all cases of developmental dyslexia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Community Perspectives: Mixed-Methods Investigation of Culture, Stress, Resilience, and Health

PubMed Central

Abdou, Cleopatra M.; Schetter, Christine Dunkel; Jones, Felica; Roubinov, Danielle; Tsai, Sid; Jones, Loretta; Lu, Michael; Hobel, Calvin

2016-01-01

Despite well-documented ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, our understanding of child, maternal and family health is based disproportionately on White middle-class populations in the United States. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded the Community Child Health Network (CCHN) in 2004, a partnership of five academic institutions and community organizations, to collaborate in the design and conduct of a study to foster new understandings of these disparities. Reported here are findings from a pilot study conducted at one site to inform CCHN regarding community views of stress, coping resources, family and health. Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) interviews were conducted with 54 adult participants recruited from public healthcare clinics to obtain both their self-reports and their reports of their communities' perspectives. Findings include the pervasiveness of experiences of racism and gender differences in support seeking and coping behavior. There was little recognition of some common health conditions, such as low birth weight and preterm birth, which disproportionately affect poor and minority communities. Many indicators of strength and resilience in individuals, families, and the communities at large emerged in these interviews. Communities were described as valuing achievement and upward mobility. Participants also indicated an intuitive understanding of effective parenting and of the roles of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment and behavior) in determining child health. The results inform intervention and stress research in underrepresented communities. PMID:20629246

Subtypes of developmental dyslexia: Testing the predictions of the dual-route and connectionist frameworks

PubMed Central

Peterson, Robin L.; Pennington, Bruce F.; Olson, Richard K.

2012-01-01

We investigated the phonological and surface subtypes of developmental dyslexia in light of competing predictions made by two computational models of single word reading, the dual-route cascaded model (DRC; Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001) and Harm and Seidenberg’s connectionist model (HS model; Harm & Seidenberg, 1999). The regression-outlier procedure was applied to a large sample to identify children with disproportionately poor phonological coding skills (phonological dyslexia) or disproportionately poor orthographic coding skills (surface dyslexia). Consistent with the predictions of the HS model, children with “pure” phonological dyslexia, who did not have orthographic deficits, had milder phonological impairments than children with “relative” phonological dyslexia, who did have secondary orthographic deficits. In addition, pure cases of dyslexia were more common among older children. Consistent with the predictions of the DRC model, surface dyslexia was not well conceptualized as a reading delay; both phonological and surface dyslexia were associated with patterns of developmental deviance. In addition, some results were problematic for both models. We identified a small number of individuals with severe phonological dyslexia, relatively intact orthographic coding skills, and very poor real word reading. Further, a subset of controls could read normally despite impaired orthographic coding. The findings are discussed in terms of improvements to both models that might help better account for all cases of developmental dyslexia. PMID:23010562

Community perspectives: mixed-methods investigation of culture, stress, resilience, and health.

PubMed

Abdou, Cleopatra M; Schetter, Christine Dunkel; Jones, Felica; Roubinov, Danielle; Tsai, Sid; Jones, Loretta; Lu, Michael; Hobel, Calvin

2010-01-01

Despite well-documented ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, our understanding of child, maternal and family health is based disproportionately on White middle-class populations in the United States. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded the Community Child Health Network (CCHN) in 2004, a partnership of five academic institutions and community organizations, to collaborate in the design and conduct of a study to foster new understandings of these disparities. Reported here are findings from a pilot study conducted at one site to inform CCHN regarding community views of stress, coping resources, family and health. Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) interviews were conducted with 54 adult participants recruited from public healthcare clinics to obtain both their self-reports and their reports of their communities' perspectives. Findings include the pervasiveness of experiences of racism and gender differences in support seeking and coping behavior. There was little recognition of some common health conditions, such as low birth weight and preterm birth, which disproportionately affect poor and minority communities. Many indicators of strength and resilience in individuals, families, and the communities at large emerged in these interviews. Communities were described as valuing achievement and upward mobility. Participants also indicated an intuitive understanding of effective parenting and of the roles of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment and behavior) in determining child health. The results inform intervention and stress research in underrepresented communities.

Jahn-Teller effects in transition-metal compounds with small charge-transfer energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizokawa, Takashi

2013-04-01

We have studied Jahn-Teller effects in Cs2Au2Br6, ACu3Co4O12(A=Ca or Y), and IrTe2 in which the ligand p-to-transition-metal d charge-transfer energy is small or negative. The Au+/Au3+ charge disproportionation of Cs2Au2Br6 manifests in Au 4f photoemission spectra. In Cs2Au2Br6 with negative Δ and intermediate U, the charge disproportionation can be described using effective d orbitals constructed from the Au 5d and Br 4p orbitals and is stabilized by the Jahn-Teller distortion of the Au3+ site with low-spin d8 configuration. In ACu3Co4O12, Δs for Cu3+ and Co4+ are negative and Us are very large. The Zhang-Rice picture is valid to describe the electronic state, and the valence change from Cu2+/Co4+ to Cu3+/Co3+ can be viewed as the O 2p hole transfer from Co to Cu or d9 + d6L → d9L + d6. In IrTe2, both Δ and U are small and the Ir 5d and Te 5p electrons are itinerant to form the multi-band Fermi surfaces. The ideas of band Jahn-Teller transition and Peierls transition are useful to describe the structural instabilities.

The Niobrara Formation as a challenge to water quality in the Arkansas River, Colorado, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bern, Carleton R.; Stogner, Sr., Robert W.

2017-01-01

Study regionArkansas River, east of the Rocky Mountains.Study focusCretaceous sedimentary rocks in the western United States generally pose challenges to water quality, often through mobilization of salts and trace metals by irrigation. However, in the Arkansas River Basin of Colorado, patchy exposure of multiple Cretaceous formations has made it difficult to identify which formations are most problematic. This paper examines water quality in surface-water inflows along a 26-km reach of the Arkansas River relative to the presence or absence of the Cretaceous Niobrara Formation within the watershed.New hydrological insights for the regionPrincipal component analysis (PCA) shows Niobrara-influenced inflows have distinctive geochemistry, particularly with respect to Na, Mg, SO42−, and Se. Uranium concentrations are also greater in Niobrara-influenced inflows. During the irrigation season, median dissolved solids, Se, and U concentrations in Niobrara-influenced inflows were 83%, 646%, and 55%, respectively, greater than medians where Niobrara Formation surface exposures were absent. During the non-irrigation season, which better reflects geologic influence, the differences were more striking. Median dissolved solids, Se, and U concentrations in Niobrara-influenced inflows were 288%, 863%, and 155%, respectively, greater than median concentrations where the Niobrara Formation was absent. Identification of the Niobrara Formation as a disproportionate source for dissolved solids, Se, and U will allow for more targeted studies and management, particularly where exposures underlie irrigated agriculture.

Recruiting medical students into psychiatry in lower income countries.

PubMed

Nortje, Gareth; Seedat, Soraya

2013-08-01

There is a serious shortage of psychiatrists and poor recruitment of new psychiatry trainees worldwide. Low and middle income countries suffer disproportionately on many accounts. A negative attitude towards psychiatry is thought to contribute to poor recruitment of psychiatry trainees. Previous reviews have focused on the attitudes of medical students in high income countries, but factors relevant to attitude and recruitment may be different in lower income countries. Here we review studies of medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry from low and lower-middle income countries, summarize key themes which negatively influence attitudes, and suggest strategies for overcoming them. Major themes include stigma, perceived status of psychiatry, lack of psychiatric trainers, local cultural beliefs, poor working conditions, and quality of patient care.

The influence of pastors’ ideologies of homosexuality on HIV prevention in the Black Church

PubMed Central

Quinn, Katherine; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Young, Staci

2016-01-01

Young, Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and Black churches may be a source of stigma which can exacerbate HIV risk and contribute to negative health and psychosocial outcomes. Findings from this study are based on 21 semi-structured interviews with pastors and ethnographic observation in six Black Churches. Interview transcripts and field notes were analyzed in MAXQDA using thematic content analysis. Although pastors espoused messages of love and acceptance, they overwhelmingly believed homosexuality was a sin and had difficulty accepting YBMSM into their churches. The tension around homosexuality limited pastors’ involvement in HIV prevention efforts, although there still may be opportunities for some churches. PMID:27099095

Association of head circumference and shoulder dystocia in macrosomic neonates.

PubMed

Larson, Austin; Mandelbaum, David E

2013-04-01

To determine whether asymmetric macrosomia (disproportionately large body size in comparison to head circumference) could be demonstrated in a population of infants suffering shoulder dystocia during delivery relative to those that did not suffer from shoulder dystocia. A case-control study was conducted as a retrospective chart review over 3 years at a large maternity hospital in an urban setting. Among infants over 4,000 g, those that suffered from shoulder dystocia during delivery had a smaller mean head circumference than infants of a similar size that did not suffer from shoulder dystocia. A statistically significant difference was also present when cases of documented gestational diabetes were excluded. Asymmetric macrosomia is more likely to be present in a population of infants who suffered shoulder dystocia during delivery. This knowledge could be used in designing tools to predict which pregnancies are at highest risk for shoulder dystocia during delivery.

The 25 October 2010 Mentawai tsunami earthquake, from real-time discriminants, finite-fault rupture, and tsunami excitation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Newman, Andrew V.; Hayes, Gavin P.; Wei, Yong; Convers, Jaime

2011-01-01

The moment magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck offshore the Mentawai islands in western Indonesia on 25 October 2010 created a locally large tsunami that caused more than 400 human causalities. We identify this earthquake as a rare slow-source tsunami earthquake based on: 1) disproportionately large tsunami waves; 2) excessive rupture duration near 125 s; 3) predominantly shallow, near-trench slip determined through finite-fault modeling; and 4) deficiencies in energy-to-moment and energy-to-duration-cubed ratios, the latter in near-real time. We detail the real-time solutions that identified the slow-nature of this event, and evaluate how regional reductions in crustal rigidity along the shallow trench as determined by reduced rupture velocity contributed to increased slip, causing the 5–9 m local tsunami runup and observed transoceanic wave heights observed 1600 km to the southeast.

The 25 October 2010 Mentawai tsunami earthquake, from real-time discriminants, finite-fault rupture, and tsunami excitation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Newman, A.V.; Hayes, G.; Wei, Y.; Convers, J.

2011-01-01

The moment magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck offshore the Mentawai islands in western Indonesia on 25 October 2010 created a locally large tsunami that caused more than 400 human causalities. We identify this earthquake as a rare slow-source tsunami earthquake based on: 1) disproportionately large tsunami waves; 2) excessive rupture duration near 125 s; 3) predominantly shallow, near-trench slip determined through finite-fault modeling; and 4) deficiencies in energy-to-moment and energy-to-duration-cubed ratios, the latter in near-real time. We detail the real-time solutions that identified the slow-nature of this event, and evaluate how regional reductions in crustal rigidity along the shallow trench as determined by reduced rupture velocity contributed to increased slip, causing the 5-9 m local tsunami runup and observed transoceanic wave heights observed 1600 km to the southeast. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

Mate choice, sexual selection, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

PubMed

Gore, Andrea C; Holley, Amanda M; Crews, David

2018-05-01

Humans have disproportionately affected the habitat and survival of species through environmental contamination. Important among these anthropogenic influences is the proliferation of organic chemicals, some of which perturb hormone systems, the latter referred to as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs are widespread in the environment and affect all levels of reproduction, including development of reproductive organs, hormone release and regulation through the life cycle, the development of secondary sexual characteristics, and the maturation and maintenance of adult physiology and behavior. However, what is not well-known is how the confluence of EDC actions on the manifestation of morphological and behavioral sexual traits influences mate choice, a process that requires the reciprocal evaluation of and/or acceptance of a sexual partner. Moreover, the outcomes of EDC-induced perturbations are likely to influence sexual selection; yet this has rarely been directly tested. Here, we provide background on the development and manifestation of sexual traits, reproductive competence, and the neurobiology of sexual behavior, and evidence for their perturbation by EDCs. Selection acts on individuals, with the consequences manifest in populations, and we discuss the implications for EDC contamination of these processes, and the future of species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A tale of two cities: residential context and risky behavior among adolescents in Los Angeles and Chicago.

PubMed

Frank, Reanne; Bjornstrom, Eileen

2011-01-01

This article evaluates whether the at-risk behavior of adolescents is differentially influenced by community context across two metropolitan areas. Our focus is on Latino youth in particular. The data come from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Multi-level models are employed to estimate the effects of community-level influences on adolescent risky behavior in Los Angeles and Chicago. Neighborhood-level influences on the at-risk behavior of youth are found to operate similarly across the two cities, such that native-born children of Latino immigrants are at greatest risk of problem behavior in co-ethnic highly segregated neighborhoods in both Los Angeles and Chicago. Similar patterns are observed for African-Americans, particularly in Chicago and Non-Latino Whites in both cities. We argue that the findings are best interpreted through a segregation framework. Members of each racial/ethnic group appear to exhibit negative health risk behaviors when they reside in areas that are disproportionately populated with their co-ethnic peers. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feeder use predicts both acquisition and transmission of a contagious pathogen in a North American songbird.

PubMed

Adelman, James S; Moyers, Sahnzi C; Farine, Damien R; Hawley, Dana M

2015-09-22

Individual heterogeneity can influence the dynamics of infectious diseases in wildlife and humans alike. Thus, recent work has sought to identify behavioural characteristics that contribute disproportionately to individual variation in pathogen acquisition (super-receiving) or transmission (super-spreading). However, it remains unknown whether the same behaviours enhance both acquisition and transmission, a scenario likely to result in explosive epidemics. Here, we examined this possibility in an ecologically relevant host-pathogen system: house finches and their bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, which causes severe conjunctivitis. We examined behaviours likely to influence disease acquisition (feeder use, aggression, social network affiliations) in an observational field study, finding that the time an individual spends on bird feeders best predicted the risk of conjunctivitis. To test whether this behaviour also influences the likelihood of transmitting M. gallisepticum, we experimentally inoculated individuals based on feeding behaviour and tracked epidemics within captive flocks. As predicted, transmission was fastest when birds that spent the most time on feeders initiated the epidemic. Our results suggest that the same behaviour underlies both pathogen acquisition and transmission in this system and potentially others. Identifying individuals that exhibit such behaviours is critical for disease management. © 2015 The Author(s).

Personal and cultural influences on diabetes self-care behaviors among older Hispanics born in the U.S. and Mexico.

PubMed

Mier, Nelda; Smith, Matthew Lee; Carrillo-Zuniga, Genny; Wang, Xiaohui; Garza, Norma; Ory, Marcia G

2012-12-01

Older Hispanics are disproportionately affected by diabetes, but little is known about predictors of diabetes self-care among this group. This study compared the magnitude of three self-care behaviors (diet, physical activity (PA), and glucose monitoring) among older Hispanics with type 2 diabetes born in the United States (n = 59) to those born in Mexico (n = 179), and investigated the influence of personal and health indicators on each self-care behavior. Findings were based on data drawn from convenience sample data collected with a questionnaire. Self-care behaviors were moderately practiced (39.5-45.8 %) with no significant differences by nativity. Mexico-born seniors were less linguistically acculturated (P < 0.001). Being female (OR = 2.41) and PA levels (OR = 2.62) were significantly associated with diet. Being female (OR = 3.24), more educated (OR = 3.73), U.S.-born (OR = 2.84), and receiving diabetes education (OR = 3.67) were associated with PA. Diabetes education (OR = 2.41) was associated with glucose monitoring. Although acculturation influenced only PA and no other behaviors, personal and cultural factors require further investigation to design diabetes management strategies for Hispanic seniors at the border region.

Genome-Wide Association Scan Meta-Analysis Identifies Three Loci Influencing Adiposity and Fat Distribution

PubMed Central

Qi, Lu; Speliotes, Elizabeth K.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Willer, Cristen J.; Herrera, Blanca M.; Jackson, Anne U.; Lim, Noha; Scheet, Paul; Soranzo, Nicole; Amin, Najaf; Aulchenko, Yurii S.; Chambers, John C.; Drong, Alexander; Luan, Jian'an; Lyon, Helen N.; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Sanna, Serena; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Zillikens, M. Carola; Zhao, Jing Hua; Almgren, Peter; Bandinelli, Stefania; Bennett, Amanda J.; Bergman, Richard N.; Bonnycastle, Lori L.; Bumpstead, Suzannah J.; Chanock, Stephen J.; Cherkas, Lynn; Chines, Peter; Coin, Lachlan; Cooper, Cyrus; Crawford, Gabriel; Doering, Angela; Dominiczak, Anna; Doney, Alex S. F.; Ebrahim, Shah; Elliott, Paul; Erdos, Michael R.; Estrada, Karol; Ferrucci, Luigi; Fischer, Guido; Forouhi, Nita G.; Gieger, Christian; Grallert, Harald; Groves, Christopher J.; Grundy, Scott; Guiducci, Candace; Hadley, David; Hamsten, Anders; Havulinna, Aki S.; Hofman, Albert; Holle, Rolf; Holloway, John W.; Illig, Thomas; Isomaa, Bo; Jacobs, Leonie C.; Jameson, Karen; Jousilahti, Pekka; Karpe, Fredrik; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laitinen, Jaana; Lathrop, G. Mark; Lawlor, Debbie A.; Mangino, Massimo; McArdle, Wendy L.; Meitinger, Thomas; Morken, Mario A.; Morris, Andrew P.; Munroe, Patricia; Narisu, Narisu; Nordström, Anna; Nordström, Peter; Oostra, Ben A.; Palmer, Colin N. A.; Payne, Felicity; Peden, John F.; Prokopenko, Inga; Renström, Frida; Ruokonen, Aimo; Salomaa, Veikko; Sandhu, Manjinder S.; Scott, Laura J.; Scuteri, Angelo; Silander, Kaisa; Song, Kijoung; Yuan, Xin; Stringham, Heather M.; Swift, Amy J.; Tuomi, Tiinamaija; Uda, Manuela; Vollenweider, Peter; Waeber, Gerard; Wallace, Chris; Walters, G. Bragi; Weedon, Michael N.; Witteman, Jacqueline C. M.; Zhang, Cuilin; Zhang, Weihua; Caulfield, Mark J.; Collins, Francis S.; Davey Smith, George; Day, Ian N. M.; Franks, Paul W.; Hattersley, Andrew T.; Hu, Frank B.; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Kong, Augustine; Kooner, Jaspal S.; Laakso, Markku; Lakatta, Edward; Mooser, Vincent; Morris, Andrew D.; Peltonen, Leena; Samani, Nilesh J.; Spector, Timothy D.; Strachan, David P.; Tanaka, Toshiko; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uitterlinden, André G.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Watkins for the PROCARDIS consortia, Hugh; Waterworth, Dawn M.; Boehnke, Michael; Deloukas, Panos; Groop, Leif; Hunter, David J.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Schlessinger, David; Wichmann, H.-Erich; Frayling, Timothy M.; Abecasis, Gonçalo R.; Hirschhorn, Joel N.; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Stefansson, Kari; Mohlke, Karen L.; Barroso, Inês; McCarthy for the GIANT consortium, Mark I.

2009-01-01

To identify genetic loci influencing central obesity and fat distribution, we performed a meta-analysis of 16 genome-wide association studies (GWAS, N = 38,580) informative for adult waist circumference (WC) and waist–hip ratio (WHR). We selected 26 SNPs for follow-up, for which the evidence of association with measures of central adiposity (WC and/or WHR) was strong and disproportionate to that for overall adiposity or height. Follow-up studies in a maximum of 70,689 individuals identified two loci strongly associated with measures of central adiposity; these map near TFAP2B (WC, P = 1.9×10−11) and MSRA (WC, P = 8.9×10−9). A third locus, near LYPLAL1, was associated with WHR in women only (P = 2.6×10−8). The variants near TFAP2B appear to influence central adiposity through an effect on overall obesity/fat-mass, whereas LYPLAL1 displays a strong female-only association with fat distribution. By focusing on anthropometric measures of central obesity and fat distribution, we have identified three loci implicated in the regulation of human adiposity. PMID:19557161

Role of Disproportionation in the Dissolution of Mn from Lithium Manganate Spinel

DOE PAGES

Benedek, Roy

2017-09-18

Dissolution of Mn from lithium-manganese spinel has hindered its commercialization as a cathode material in Li-ion batteries. Disproportionation of near-surface Mn(III), in the presence of acid, has been widely thought to result in dissolved divalent Mn. To what extent stray acidic water in the cell (as opposed to the organic electrolyte) acts as the solvent for Mn ions has not been established. Simulations by Leung show that a small displacement of trivalent Mn from its equilibrium site at an LiMn 2O 4 (001)/ ethylene carbonate interface leads to its reduction to Mn(II). In the present work, Thermodynamic Integration is performed,more » based on first-principles molecular dynamics simulations within the Blue-Moon ensemble, for the detachment of Mn(III) ions at the LiMn 2O 4 (001)/water interface. The results show that reduction of Mn(III) to Mn(II) occurs also in the case of an aqueous interface. The simulations were performed for both neutral and acidic water (in the presence of HF), with the coordination number of the dissolving Mn ion with substrate oxygen ions taken as the reaction coordinate. The simulations indicate that an F - ion strongly binds to a surface Mn(III) ion, and weakens its adhesion to the substrate. Owing to this weakening, a surface Mn-F complex traverses regions of phase space at room temperature where disproportionation becomes energetically favorable. Although this disproportionation occurs close to the substrate, where the Mn coordination number is only slightly lowered from its equilibrium value, we argue that the likelihood of reattachment after disproportionation is small (Leung arrived at a similar interpretation in the case of the LiMn 2O 4 (001)/ EC interface). We suggest that the critical role of F - in promoting dissolution is to weaken the Mn binding to the substrate so as to enable disproportionation. The partially detached MnF complex may then undergo additional interaction with the solvent to form, e.g., MnF 2, which would enable transport away from the substrate. In conclusion, the EPR measurements by Shilina et al. which appear to show Mn(III) as the predominant solvated species are discussed.« less

Role of water in the dynamic disproportionation of Zn-based TCNQ(F4) coordination polymers (TCNQ = tetracyanoquinodimethane).

PubMed

Nafady, Ayman; Le, Thanh Hai; Vo, Nguyen; Haworth, Naomi L; Bond, Alan M; Martin, Lisandra L

2014-02-17

Intriguingly, coordination polymers containing TCNQ(2–) and TCNQF4(2–) (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane, TCNQF4 = 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane, both designated as TCNQ(F4)(2–)) may be generated from reaction of metal ions with TCNQ(F4)•–. An explanation is now provided in terms of a solvent-dependent dynamic disproportionation reaction. A systematic study of reactions associated with TCNQ(F4) and electrochemically generated TCNQ(F4)MeCN•– and TCNQ(F4)MeCN(2–) revealed that disproportionation of TCNQ(F4)MeCN•– radical anions in acetonitrile containing a low concentration of water is facilitated by the presence of ZnMeCN(2+). Thus, while the disproportionation reaction 2TCNQ(F4)MeCN•– TCNQ(F4)MeCN + TCNQ(F4)MeCN(2–) is thermodynamically very unfavorable in this medium (Keq ≈ 9 × 10(–10); TCNQF4), the preferential precipitation of ZnTCNQ(F4)(s) drives the reaction: ZnMeCN(2+) + 2 TCNQ(F4)MeCN•– ZnTCNQ(F4)(s) + TCNQ(F4)MeCN. The concomitant formation of soluble TCNQ(F4)MeCN and insoluble ZnTCNQ(F4)(s) and the loss of TCNQ(F4)MeCN•– were verified by UV–visible and infrared spectroscopy and steady-state voltammetry. Importantly, the reverse reaction of comproportionation rather than disproportionation becomes the favored process in the presence of ≥3% (v/v) water, due to the increased solubility of solid ZnTCNQ(F4)(s). Thus, in this “wet” environment, ZnMeCN(2+) and TCNQ(F4)MeCN•– are produced from a mixture of ZnTCNQ(F4)(s) and TCNQ(F4)MeCN and with the addition of water provides a medium for synthesis of [Zn(TCNQ(F4))2(H2O)2]. An important conclusion from this work is that the redox level of TCNQ(F4)-based materials, synthesized from a mixture of metal cations and TCNQ(F4)•–, is controlled by a solvent-dependent disproportionation/comproportionation reaction that may be tuned to favor formation of solids containing the monoanion radical, the dianion, or even a mixture of both.

Workers on the margin: who drops health coverage when prices rise?

PubMed

Okeke, Edward N; Hirth, Richard A; Grazier, Kyle

2010-01-01

We revisit the question of price elasticity of employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) take-up by directly examining changes in the take-up of ESI at a large firm in response to exogenous changes in employee premium contributions. We find that, on average, a 10% increase in the employee's out-of-pocket premium increases the probability of dropping coverage by approximately 1%. More importantly, we find heterogeneous impacts: married workers are much more price-sensitive than single employees, and lower-paid workers are disproportionately more likely to drop coverage than higher-paid workers. Elasticity estimates for employees below the 25th percentile of salary distribution in our sample are nearly twice the average.

Error driven remeshing strategy in an elastic-plastic shakedown problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pazdanowski, Michał J.

2018-01-01

A shakedown based approach has been for many years successfully used to calculate the distributions of residual stresses in bodies made of elastic-plastic materials and subjected to cyclic loads exceeding their bearing capacity. The calculations performed indicated the existence of areas characterized by extremely high gradients and rapid changes of sign over small areas in the stress field sought. In order to account for these changes in sign, relatively dense nodal meshes had to be used during calculations in disproportionately large parts of considered bodies, resulting in unnecessary expenditure of computer resources. Therefore the effort was undertaken to limit the areas of high mesh densities and drive the mesh regeneration algorithm by selected error indicators.

Substance use in pregnancy.

PubMed

Slater, Louise

2015-01-01

The increase in substance use which occurred in the 1980s was disproportionately large among women of reproductive age, so both the numbers of women who use drugs and the duration of drug use have increased (Hepburn 2004). While drug use occurs throughout society, the type and pattern of drug use that is associated with medical and social problems is closely associated with socio-economic deprivation. Socio-economic deprivation is in turn associated with unhealthy lifestyles and behaviours such as smoking and poor diet. Deprivation, associated lifestyles and substance use adversely affect the health of mother and baby, so the effects are cumulative. Consequently women with problem drug and/or alcohol use have potentially complex pregnancies (Hepburn 2004).

Geography should not be destiny: focusing HIV/AIDS implementation research and programs on microepidemics in US neighborhoods.

PubMed

Nunn, Amy; Yolken, Annajane; Cutler, Blayne; Trooskin, Stacey; Wilson, Phill; Little, Susan; Mayer, Kenneth

2014-05-01

African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Within the most heavily affected cities, a few neighborhoods account for a large share of new HIV infections. Addressing racial and economic disparities in HIV infection requires an implementation program and research agenda that assess the impact of HIV prevention interventions focused on increasing HIV testing, treatment, and retention in care in the most heavily affected neighborhoods in urban areas of the United States. Neighborhood-based implementation research should evaluate programs that focus on community mobilization, media campaigns, routine testing, linkage to and retention in care, and block-by-block outreach strategies.

HIV, wages, and the skill premium.

PubMed

Marinescu, Ioana

2014-09-01

The HIV epidemic has dramatically decreased labor supply among prime-age adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using within-country variation in regional HIV prevalence and a synthetic panel, I find that HIV significantly increases the capital-labor ratio in urban manufacturing firms. The impact of HIV on average wages is positive but imprecisely estimated. In contrast, HIV has a large positive impact on the skill premium. The impact of HIV on the wages of low skilled workers is insignificantly different from 0, and is strongly dampened by competition from rural migrants. The HIV epidemic disproportionately increases the incomes of high-skilled survivors, thus increasing inequality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic effects on the catalytic disproportionation of formic acid to methanol by [Cp*Ir(III)(R-bpy)Cl]Cl complexes.

PubMed

Sasayama, A F; Moore, C E; Kubiak, C P

2016-02-14

A series of [Cp*Ir(III)(R-bpy)Cl]Cl (R-bpy = 4,4'-di-R-2,2'-bipyridine; R = CF3, H, Me, tBu, OMe) complexes was prepared and studied for catalytic formic acid disproportionation. The relationship between the electron donating strength of the bipyridine substituents and methanol production of the corresponding complexes was analyzed; the unsubstituted (R = H) complex was the most selective for methanol formation.

The legacy of the Pleistocene megafauna extinctions on nutrient availability in Amazonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doughty, Christopher E.; Wolf, Adam; Malhi, Yadvinder

2013-09-01

In the late Pleistocene, 97 genera of large animals went extinct, concentrated in the Americas and Australia. These extinctions had significant effects on ecosystem structure, seed dispersal and land surface albedo. However, the impact of this dramatic extinction on ecosystem nutrient biogeochemistry, through the lateral transport of dung and bodies, has never been explored. Here we analyse this process using a novel mathematical framework that analyses this lateral transport as a diffusion-like process, and we demonstrate that large animals play a disproportionately large role in the horizontal transfer of nutrients across landscapes. For example, we estimate that the extinction of the Amazonian megafauna decreased the lateral flux of the limiting nutrient phosphorus by more than 98%, with similar, though less extreme, decreases in all continents outside of Africa. This resulted in strong decreases in phosphorus availability in eastern Amazonia away from fertile floodplains, a decline which may still be ongoing. The current P limitation in the Amazon basin may be partially a relic of an ecosystem without the functional connectivity it once had. We argue that the Pleistocene megafauna extinctions resulted in large and ongoing disruptions to terrestrial biogeochemical cycling at continental scales and increased nutrient heterogeneity globally.

Body size drives allochthony in food webs of tropical rivers.

PubMed

Jardine, Timothy D; Rayner, Thomas S; Pettit, Neil E; Valdez, Dominic; Ward, Douglas P; Lindner, Garry; Douglas, Michael M; Bunn, Stuart E

2017-02-01

Food web subsidies from external sources ("allochthony") can support rich biological diversity and high secondary and tertiary production in aquatic systems, even those with low rates of primary production. However, animals vary in their degree of dependence on these subsidies. We examined dietary sources for aquatic animals restricted to refugial habitats (waterholes) during the dry season in Australia's wet-dry tropics, and show that allochthony is strongly size dependent. While small-bodied fishes and invertebrates derived a large proportion of their diet from autochthonous sources within the waterhole (phytoplankton, periphyton, or macrophytes), larger animals, including predatory fishes and crocodiles, demonstrated allochthony from seasonally inundated floodplains, coastal zones or the surrounding savanna. Autochthony declined roughly 10% for each order of magnitude increase in body size. The largest animals in the food web, estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus), derived ~80% of their diet from allochthonous sources. Allochthony enables crocodiles and large predatory fish to achieve high biomass, countering empirically derived expectations for negative density vs. body size relationships. These results highlight the strong degree of connectivity that exists between rivers and their floodplains in systems largely unaffected by river regulation or dams and levees, and how large iconic predators could be disproportionately affected by these human activities.

Fault healing promotes high-frequency earthquakes in laboratory experiments and on natural faults

USGS Publications Warehouse

McLaskey, Gregory C.; Thomas, Amanda M.; Glaser, Steven D.; Nadeau, Robert M.

2012-01-01

Faults strengthen or heal with time in stationary contact and this healing may be an essential ingredient for the generation of earthquakes. In the laboratory, healing is thought to be the result of thermally activated mechanisms that weld together micrometre-sized asperity contacts on the fault surface, but the relationship between laboratory measures of fault healing and the seismically observable properties of earthquakes is at present not well defined. Here we report on laboratory experiments and seismological observations that show how the spectral properties of earthquakes vary as a function of fault healing time. In the laboratory, we find that increased healing causes a disproportionately large amount of high-frequency seismic radiation to be produced during fault rupture. We observe a similar connection between earthquake spectra and recurrence time for repeating earthquake sequences on natural faults. Healing rates depend on pressure, temperature and mineralogy, so the connection between seismicity and healing may help to explain recent observations of large megathrust earthquakes which indicate that energetic, high-frequency seismic radiation originates from locations that are distinct from the geodetically inferred locations of large-amplitude fault slip

Developing a research agenda for cardiovascular disease prevention in high-risk rural communities.

PubMed

Melvin, Cathy L; Corbie-Smith, Giselle; Kumanyika, Shiriki K; Pratt, Charlotte A; Nelson, Cheryl; Walker, Evelyn R; Ammerman, Alice; Ayala, Guadalupe X; Best, Lyle G; Cherrington, Andrea L; Economos, Christina D; Green, Lawrence W; Harman, Jane; Hooker, Steven P; Murray, David M; Perri, Michael G; Ricketts, Thomas C

2013-06-01

The National Institutes of Health convened a workshop to engage researchers and practitioners in dialogue on research issues viewed as either unique or of particular relevance to rural areas, key content areas needed to inform policy and practice in rural settings, and ways rural contexts may influence study design, implementation, assessment of outcomes, and dissemination. Our purpose was to develop a research agenda to address the disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related risk factors among populations living in rural areas. Complementary presentations used theoretical and methodological principles to describe research and practice examples from rural settings. Participants created a comprehensive CVD research agenda that identified themes and challenges, and provided 21 recommendations to guide research, practice, and programs in rural areas.

Persistence of El Niño effects on stable isotope ratios in cellulose of Coast Redwood tree-rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnstone, J. A.

2005-12-01

An anomalously wet El Niño winter in 1998 in Sonoma County, California, USA produced sharp changes in the oxygen and carbon isotope ratios of tree-ring cellulose of Coast Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.) which persisted for several years thereafter. High-resolution cellulose sampling reveals a negative shift in both δ18O and δ13C, consistent with greater reliance on winter rain water supplies (rather than summer fog) as well as reduced drought stress due to the anomalous precipitation. The annual cycle of these isotopic ratios is also muted for several years following the 1998 winter. These observations suggest a disproportionate and persistent influence of extreme years in the interannual variability of Coast Redwood hydrology and physiology.

Citizens United, Public Health, and Democracy: The Supreme Court Ruling, Its Implications, and Proposed Action

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The 2010 US Supreme Court Citizens United v Federal Election Commission 130 US 876 (2010) case concerned the plans of a nonprofit organization to distribute a film about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Court ruled that prohibiting corporate independent expenditures for advocacy advertising during election campaigns unconstitutionally inhibits free speech. Corporations can now make unlimited contributions to election advocacy advertising directly from the corporate treasury. Candidates who favor public health positions may be subjected to corporate opposition advertising. Citizen groups and legislators have proposed remedies to ameliorate the effects of the Court's ruling. The public health field needs to apply its expertise, in collaboration with others, to work to reduce the disproportionate influence of corporate political speech on health policy and democracy. PMID:21421946

Citizens United, public health, and democracy: the Supreme Court ruling, its implications, and proposed action.

PubMed

Wiist, William H

2011-07-01

The 2010 US Supreme Court Citizens United v Federal Election Commission 130 US 876 (2010) case concerned the plans of a nonprofit organization to distribute a film about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Court ruled that prohibiting corporate independent expenditures for advocacy advertising during election campaigns unconstitutionally inhibits free speech. Corporations can now make unlimited contributions to election advocacy advertising directly from the corporate treasury. Candidates who favor public health positions may be subjected to corporate opposition advertising. Citizen groups and legislators have proposed remedies to ameliorate the effects of the Court's ruling. The public health field needs to apply its expertise, in collaboration with others, to work to reduce the disproportionate influence of corporate political speech on health policy and democracy.

Cyanide Soap? Dissolved material in Titan's Seas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, R. D.; Lunine, J. I.; Neish, C. D.

2011-10-01

Although it is evident that Titan's lakes and seas are dominated by ethane, methane, nitrogen, and (in some models) propane, there is divergence on the predicted relative abundance of minor constituents such as nitriles and C-4 alkanes. Nitriles such as hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile, which have a significant dipole moment, may have a disproportionate influence on the dielectric properties of Titan seas and may act to solvate polar molecules such as water ice. The hypothesis is offered that such salvation may act to enhance the otherwise negligible solubility of water ice bedrock in liquid hydrocarbons. Such enhanced solubility may permit solution erosion as a formation mechanism for the widespread pits and apparently karstic lakes on Titan. Prospects for testing this hypothesis in the laboratory, and with measurements on Titan, will be discussed.

Developing a Research Agenda for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in High-Risk Rural Communities

PubMed Central

Corbie-Smith, Giselle; Kumanyika, Shiriki K.; Pratt, Charlotte A.; Nelson, Cheryl; Walker, Evelyn R.; Ammerman, Alice; Ayala, Guadalupe X.; Best, Lyle G.; Cherrington, Andrea L.; Economos, Christina D.; Green, Lawrence W.; Harman, Jane; Hooker, Steven P.; Murray, David M.; Perri, Michael G.; Ricketts, Thomas C.

2013-01-01

The National Institutes of Health convened a workshop to engage researchers and practitioners in dialogue on research issues viewed as either unique or of particular relevance to rural areas, key content areas needed to inform policy and practice in rural settings, and ways rural contexts may influence study design, implementation, assessment of outcomes, and dissemination. Our purpose was to develop a research agenda to address the disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related risk factors among populations living in rural areas. Complementary presentations used theoretical and methodological principles to describe research and practice examples from rural settings. Participants created a comprehensive CVD research agenda that identified themes and challenges, and provided 21 recommendations to guide research, practice, and programs in rural areas. PMID:23597371

Elemental sulfur and thiosulfate disproportionation by Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens sp. nov., a new anaerobic bacterium isolated from marine surface sediment.

PubMed

Finster, K; Liesack, W; Thamdrup, B

1998-01-01

A mesophilic, anaerobic, gram-negative bacterium, strain SB164P1, was enriched and isolated from oxidized marine surface sediment with elemental sulfur as the sole energy substrate in the presence of ferrihydrite. Elemental sulfur was disproportionated to hydrogen sulfide and sulfate. Growth was observed exclusively in the presence of a hydrogen sulfide scavenger, e.g., ferrihydrite. In the absence of a scavenger, sulfide and sulfate production were observed but no growth occurred. Strain SB164P1 grew also by disproportionation of thiosulfate and sulfite. With thiosulfate, the growth efficiency was higher in ferrihydrite-supplemented media than in media without ferrihydrite. Growth coupled to sulfate reduction was not observed. However, a slight sulfide production occurred in cultures incubated with formate and sulfate. Strain SB164P1 is the first bacterium described that grows chemolithoautotrophically exclusively by the disproportionation of inorganic sulfur compounds. Comparative 16S rDNA sequencing analysis placed strain SB164P1 into the delta subclass of the class Proteobacteria. Its closest relative is Desulfocapsa thiozymogenes, and slightly more distantly related are Desulfofustis glycolicus and Desulforhopalus vacuolatus. This phylogenetic cluster of organisms, together with members of the genus Desulfobulbus, forms one of the main lines of descent within the delta subclass of the Proteobacteria. Due to the common phenotypic characteristics and the phylogenetic relatedness to Desulfocapsa thiozymogenes, we propose that strain SB164P1 be designated the type strain of Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens sp. nov.

Elemental Sulfur and Thiosulfate Disproportionation by Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens sp. nov., a New Anaerobic Bacterium Isolated from Marine Surface Sediment

PubMed Central

Finster, Kai; Liesack, Werner; Thamdrup, Bo

1998-01-01

A mesophilic, anaerobic, gram-negative bacterium, strain SB164P1, was enriched and isolated from oxidized marine surface sediment with elemental sulfur as the sole energy substrate in the presence of ferrihydrite. Elemental sulfur was disproportionated to hydrogen sulfide and sulfate. Growth was observed exclusively in the presence of a hydrogen sulfide scavenger, e.g., ferrihydrite. In the absence of a scavenger, sulfide and sulfate production were observed but no growth occurred. Strain SB164P1 grew also by disproportionation of thiosulfate and sulfite. With thiosulfate, the growth efficiency was higher in ferrihydrite-supplemented media than in media without ferrihydrite. Growth coupled to sulfate reduction was not observed. However, a slight sulfide production occurred in cultures incubated with formate and sulfate. Strain SB164P1 is the first bacterium described that grows chemolithoautotrophically exclusively by the disproportionation of inorganic sulfur compounds. Comparative 16S rDNA sequencing analysis placed strain SB164P1 into the delta subclass of the class Proteobacteria. Its closest relative is Desulfocapsa thiozymogenes, and slightly more distantly related are Desulfofustis glycolicus and Desulforhopalus vacuolatus. This phylogenetic cluster of organisms, together with members of the genus Desulfobulbus, forms one of the main lines of descent within the delta subclass of the Proteobacteria. Due to the common phenotypic characteristics and the phylogenetic relatedness to Desulfocapsa thiozymogenes, we propose that strain SB164P1 be designated the type strain of Desulfocapsa sulfoexigens sp. nov. PMID:9435068

Soil Iron Content as a Predictor of Carbon and Nutrient Mobilization in Rewetted Fens

PubMed Central

Emsens, Willem-Jan; Aggenbach, Camiel J. S.; Schoutens, Ken; Smolders, Alfons J. P.; Zak, Dominik; van Diggelen, Rudy

2016-01-01

Rewetted, previously drained fens often remain sources rather than sinks for carbon and nutrients. To date, it is poorly understood which soil characteristics stimulate carbon and nutrient mobilization upon rewetting. Here, we assess the hypothesis that a large pool of iron in the soil negatively affects fen restoration success, as flooding-induced iron reduction (Fe3+ to Fe2+) causes a disproportionate breakdown of organic matter that is coupled with a release of inorganic compounds. We collected intact soil cores in two iron-poor and two iron-rich drained fens, half of which were subjected to a rewetting treatment while the other half was kept drained. Prolonged drainage led to the mobilization of nitrate (NO3-, > 1 mmol L-1) in all cores, regardless of soil iron content. In the rewetted iron-rich cores, a sharp increase in pore water iron (Fe) concentrations correlated with concentrations of inorganic carbon (TIC, > 13 mmol L-1) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC, > 16 mmol L-1). Additionally, ammonium (NH4+) accumulated up to phytotoxic concentrations of 1 mmol L-1 in the pore water of the rewetted iron-rich cores. Disproportionate mobilization of Fe, TIC, DOC and NH4+ was absent in the rewetted iron-poor cores, indicating a strong interaction between waterlogging and iron-mediated breakdown of organic matter. Concentrations of dissolved phosphorus (P) rose slightly in all cores upon rewetting, but remained low throughout the experiment. Our results suggest that large pools of iron in the top soil of drained fens can hamper the restoration of the fen’s sink-service for ammonium and carbon upon rewetting. We argue that negative effects of iron should be most apparent in fens with fluctuating water levels, as temporary oxygenation allows frequent regeneration of Fe3+. We conclude that rewetting of iron-poor fens may be more feasible for restoration. PMID:27050837

Identifying habitats at risk: simple models can reveal complex ecosystem dynamics.

PubMed

Maxwell, Paul S; Pitt, Kylie A; Olds, Andrew D; Rissik, David; Connolly, Rod M

2015-03-01

The relationship between ecological impact and ecosystem structure is often strongly nonlinear, so that small increases in impact levels can cause a disproportionately large response in ecosystem structure. Nonlinear ecosystem responses can be difficult to predict because locally relevant data sets can be difficult or impossible to obtain. Bayesian networks (BN) are an emerging tool that can help managers to define ecosystem relationships using a range of data types from comprehensive quantitative data sets to expert opinion. We show how a simple BN can reveal nonlinear dynamics in seagrass ecosystems using ecological relationships sourced from the literature. We first developed a conceptual diagram by cataloguing the ecological responses of seagrasses to a range of drivers and impacts. We used the conceptual diagram to develop a BN populated with values sourced from published studies. We then applied the BN to show that the amount of initial seagrass biomass has a mitigating effect on the level of impact a meadow can withstand without loss, and that meadow recovery can often require disproportionately large improvements in impact levels. This mitigating effect resulted in the middle ranges of impact levels having a wide likelihood of seagrass presence, a situation known as bistability. Finally, we applied the model in a case study to identify the risk of loss and the likelihood of recovery for the conservation and management of seagrass meadows in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. We used the model to predict the likelihood of bistability in 23 locations in the Bay. The model predicted bistability in seven locations, most of which have experienced seagrass loss at some stage in the past 25 years providing essential information for potential future restoration efforts. Our results demonstrate the capacity of simple, flexible modeling tools to facilitate collation and synthesis of disparate information. This approach can be adopted in the initial stages of conservation programs as a low-cost and relatively straightforward way to provide preliminary assessments of.nonlinear dynamics in ecosystems.

Endocrine Control of Exaggerated Trait Growth in Rhinoceros Beetles.

PubMed

Zinna, R; Gotoh, H; Brent, C S; Dolezal, A; Kraus, A; Niimi, T; Emlen, D; Lavine, L C

2016-08-01

Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key insect growth regulator frequently involved in modulating phenotypically plastic traits such as caste determination in eusocial species, wing polymorphisms in aphids, and mandible size in stag beetles. The jaw morphology of stag beetles is sexually-dimorphic and condition-dependent; males have larger jaws than females and those developing under optimum conditions are larger in overall body size and have disproportionately larger jaws than males raised under poor conditions. We have previously shown that large males have higher JH titers than small males during development, and ectopic application of fenoxycarb (JH analog) to small males can induce mandibular growth similar to that of larger males. What remains unknown is whether JH regulates condition-dependent trait growth in other insects with extreme sexually selected structures. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that JH mediates the condition-dependent expression of the elaborate horns of the Asian rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus. The sexually dimorphic head horn of this beetle is sensitive to nutritional state during larval development. Like stag beetles, male rhinoceros beetles receiving copious food produce disproportionately large horns for their body size compared with males under restricted diets. We show that JH titers are correlated with body size during the late feeding and early prepupal periods, but this correlation disappears by the late prepupal period, the period of maximum horn growth. While ectopic application of fenoxycarb during the third larval instar significantly delayed pupation, it had no effect on adult horn size relative to body size. Fenoxycarb application to late prepupae also had at most a marginal effect on relative horn size. We discuss our results in context of other endocrine signals of condition-dependent trait exaggeration and suggest that different beetle lineages may have co-opted different physiological signaling mechanisms to achieve heightened nutrient-sensitive weapon growth. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Seed dispersal and establishment of endangered plants on Oceanic Islands: the Janzen-Connell model, and the use of ecological analogues.

PubMed

Hansen, Dennis M; Kaiser, Christopher N; Müller, Christine B

2008-05-07

The Janzen-Connell model states that plant-specific natural enemies may have a disproportionately large negative effect on progeny close to maternal trees. The majority of experimental and theoretical studies addressing the Janzen-Connell model have explored how it can explain existing patterns of species diversity in tropical mainland areas. Very few studies have investigated how the model's predictions apply to isolated oceanic islands, or to the conservation management of endangered plants. Here, we provide the first experimental investigation of the predictions of the Janzen-Connell model on an oceanic island, in a conservation context. In addition, we experimentally evaluate the use of ecological analogue animals to resurrect the functional component of extinct frugivores that could have dispersed seeds away from maternal trees. In Mauritius, we investigated seed germination and seedling survival patterns of the critically endangered endemic plant Syzygium mamillatum (Myrtaceae) in relation to proximity to maternal trees. We found strong negative effects of proximity to maternal trees on growth and survival of seedlings. We successfully used giant Aldabran tortoises as ecological analogues for extinct Mauritian frugivores. Effects of gut-passage were negative at the seed germination stage, but seedlings from gut-passed seeds grew taller, had more leaves, and suffered less damage from natural enemies than any of the other seedlings. We provide the first experimental evidence of a distance-dependent Janzen-Connell effect on an oceanic island. Our results potentially have serious implications for the conservation management of rare plant species on oceanic islands, which harbour a disproportionately large fraction of the world's endemic and endangered plants. Furthermore, in contrast to recent controversy about the use of non-indigenous extant megafauna for re-wilding projects in North America and elsewhere, we argue that Mauritius and other oceanic islands are ideal study systems in which to empirically explore the use of ecological analogue species in restoration ecology.

Improvements in Production of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balzano, Leandro; Resasco, Daniel E.

2009-01-01

A continuing program of research and development has been directed toward improvement of a prior batch process in which single-walled carbon nanotubes are formed by catalytic disproportionation of carbon monoxide in a fluidized-bed reactor. The overall effect of the improvements has been to make progress toward converting the process from a batch mode to a continuous mode and to scaling of production to larger quantities. Efforts have also been made to optimize associated purification and dispersion post processes to make them effective at large scales and to investigate means of incorporating the purified products into composite materials. The ultimate purpose of the program is to enable the production of high-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes in quantities large enough and at costs low enough to foster the further development of practical applications. The fluidized bed used in this process contains mixed-metal catalyst particles. The choice of the catalyst and the operating conditions is such that the yield of single-walled carbon nanotubes, relative to all forms of carbon (including carbon fibers, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and graphite) produced in the disproportionation reaction is more than 90 weight percent. After the reaction, the nanotubes are dispersed in various solvents in preparation for end use, which typically involves blending into a plastic, ceramic, or other matrix to form a composite material. Notwithstanding the batch nature of the unmodified prior fluidized-bed process, the fluidized-bed reactor operates in a continuous mode during the process. The operation is almost entirely automated, utilizing mass flow controllers, a control computer running software specific to the process, and other equipment. Moreover, an important inherent advantage of fluidized- bed reactors in general is that solid particles can be added to and removed from fluidized beds during operation. For these reasons, the process and equipment were amenable to modification for conversion from batch to continuous production.

Volatile Element Fluxes at Copahue Volcano, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varekamp, J. C.

2002-05-01

Copahue volcano has a crater lake and acid hot springs that discharge into the Rio Agrio river system. These fluids are very concentrated (up to 6 % sulfate), rich in rock-forming elements (up to 2000 ppm Mg) and small spheres of native sulfur float in the crater lake. The stable isotope composition of the waters (delta 18O =-2.1 to + 3.6 per mille; delta D = -49 to -26 per mille) indicates that the hot spring waters are at their most concentrated about 70% volcanic brine and 30 % glacial meltwater. The crater lake waters have similar mixing proportions but added isotope effects from intense evaporation. Further dilution of the waters in the Rio Agrio gives values closer to local meteoric waters (delta 18O = -11 per mille; delta D = -77 per mille), whereas evaporation in closed ponds led to very heavy water (up to delta 18O = +12 per mille). The delta 34S value of dissolved sulfate is +14.2 per mille, whereas the native sulfur has values of -8.2 to -10.5 per mille. The heavy sulfate probably formed when SO2 disproportionated into bisulfate and native sulfur at about 300 C. We measured the sulfate fluxes in the Rio Agrio, which ranged from 20-40 kilotons S/year. The whole system was releasing sulfur at an equivalent rate of about 250-650 tons SO2/day. From the river flux sulfur values and the stochiometry of the disproportionation reaction we calculated the rate of liquid sulfur storage inside the volcano (6000 m3/year). During the eruptions of 1995/2000, large amounts of that stored liquid sulfur were ejected as pyroclastic sulfur. The calculated rate of rock dissolution (from rock- forming element fluxes in the Rio Agrio) suggests that the void space generated by rock dissolution is largely filled by native sulfur and silica. The S/Cl ratio in the hydrothermal fluids is about 2, whereas glass inclusions have S/Cl = 0.2, indicating the strong preferential degassing of sulfur.

Intimate Partner Violence and Its Health Impact on Disproportionately Affected Populations, Including Minorities and Impoverished Groups

PubMed Central

Hayashi, Hitomi; Campbell, Jacquelyn C.

2015-01-01

Abstract In the United States, intimate partner violence (IPV) against women disproportionately affects ethnic minorities. Further, disparities related to socioeconomic and foreign-born status impact the adverse physical and mental health outcomes as a result of IPV, further exacerbating these health consequences. This article reviews 36 U.S. studies on the physical (e.g., multiple injuries, disordered eating patterns), mental (e.g., depression, post-traumatic stress disorder), and sexual and reproductive health conditions (e.g., HIV/STIs, unintended pregnancy) resulting from IPV victimization among ethnic minority (i.e., Black/African American, Hispanic/Latina, Native American/Alaska Native, Asian American) women, some of whom are immigrants. Most studies either did not have a sufficient sample size of ethnic minority women or did not use adequate statistical techniques to examine differences among different racial/ethnic groups. Few studies focused on Native American/Alaska Native and immigrant ethnic minority women and many of the intra-ethnic group studies have confounded race/ethnicity with income and other social determinants of health. Nonetheless, of the available data, there is evidence of health inequities associated with both minority ethnicity and IPV. To appropriately respond to the health needs of these groups of women, it is necessary to consider social, cultural, structural, and political barriers (e.g., medical mistrust, historical racism and trauma, perceived discrimination, immigration status) to patient–provider communication and help-seeking behaviors related to IPV, which can influence health outcomes. This comprehensive approach will mitigate the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities related to IPV and associated health outcomes and behaviors. PMID:25551432

Prescription coverage in indigent patients affects the use of long-acting opioids in the management of cancer pain.

PubMed

Wieder, Robert; Delarosa, Nila; Bryan, Margarette; Hill, Ann Marie; Amadio, William J

2014-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that prescription coverage affects the prescribing of long-acting opiates to indigent inner city minority patients with cancer pain. We conducted a chart review of 360 patients treated in the Oncology Practice at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey University Hospital, who were prescribed opiate pain medications. Half the patients were charity care or self-pay (CC/SP), without the benefit of prescription coverage, and half had Medicaid, with unlimited prescription coverage. We evaluated patients discharged from a hospitalization, who had three subsequent outpatient follow-up visits. We compared demographics, pain intensity, the type and dose of opiates, adherence to prescribed pain regimen, unscheduled emergency department visits, and unscheduled hospitalizations. There was a significantly greater use of long-acting opiates in the Medicaid group than in the CC/SP group. The Medicaid group had significantly more African American patients and a greater rate of smoking and substance use, and the CC/SP group disproportionately more Hispanic and Asian patients and less smoking and substance use. Hispanic and Asian patients were less likely to have long-acting opiates prescribed to them. Pain levels and adherence were equivalent in both groups and were not affected by any of these variables except stage of disease, which was equally distributed in the two groups. Appropriate use of long-acting opiates for equivalent levels of cancer pain was influenced only by the availability of prescription coverage. The group without prescription coverage and receiving fewer long-acting opiates had disproportionately more Hispanic and Asian patients. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Prescription coverage in indigent patients affects the use of long-acting opiates in the management of cancer pain

PubMed Central

Wieder, Robert; DeLaRosa, Nila; Bryan, Margarette; Hill, Ann Marie; Amadio, William J.

2013-01-01

Purpose We tested the hypothesis that prescription coverage affects the prescribing of long-acting opiates to indigent inner city minority patients with cancer pain. Materials and Methods We conducted a chart review of 360 patients treated in the Oncology Practice at UMDNJ-University Hospital, who were prescribed opiate pain medications. Half the patients were Charity Care or Self Pay (CC/SP), without the benefit of prescription coverage, and half had Medicaid, with unlimited prescription coverage. We evaluated patients discharged from a hospitalization, who had three subsequent outpatient follow up visits. We compared demographics, pain intensity, the type and dose of opiates, adherence to prescribed pain regimen, unscheduled Emergency Department (ED) visits and unscheduled hospitalizations. Results There was a significantly greater use of long-acting opiates in the Medicaid group than in the CC/SP group. The Medicaid group had significantly more African American patients and a greater rate of smoking and substance use and the CC/SP group disproportionately more Hispanic and Asian patients and less smoking and substance use. Hispanic and Asian patients were less likely to have long-acting opiates prescribed to them. Pain levels and adherence were equivalent in both groups and were not affected by any of these variables except stage of disease, which was equally distributed in the two groups. Conclusion Appropriate use of long-acting opiates for equivalent levels of cancer pain are influenced only by the availability of prescription coverage. The group without prescription coverage and receiving fewer long-acting opiates had disproportionately more Hispanic and Asian patients. PMID:24106748

Perceptions of the food marketing environment among African American teen girls and adults.

PubMed

Bibeau, Wendy S; Saksvig, Brit I; Gittelsohn, Joel; Williams, Sonja; Jones, Lindsey; Young, Deborah Rohm

2012-02-01

Obesity disproportionately affects African American adolescents, particularly girls. While ethnically targeted marketing of unhealthful food products contributes to this disparity, it is not known how African Americans perceive the food marketing environment in their communities. Qualitative methods, specifically photovoice and group discussions, were used to understand perceptions of African American adults and teen girls regarding targeted food marketing to adolescent girls. An advisory committee of four students, two faculty, and two parents was formed, who recruited peers to photograph their environments and participate in group discussions to answer "what influences teen girls to eat what they do." Seven adults and nine teens (all female) participated in the study. Discussions were transcribed, coded, and analyzed with ATLAS.ti to identify common and disparate themes among participants. Results indicated that adults and teens perceived the type of food products, availability of foods, and price to influence the girls' choices. The girls spoke about products that were highly convenient and tasty as being particularly attractive. The adults reported that advertisements and insufficient nutrition education were also influencers. The teens discussed that the places in which food products were available influenced their choices. Results suggest that the marketing of highly available, convenient food at low prices sell products to teen girls. Future work is needed to better understand the consumer's perspective on the food and beverage marketing strategies used. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hauer, F. Richard; Locke, Harvey; Dreitz, Victoria; Hebblewhite, Mark; Lowe, Winsor; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Nelson, Cara; Proctor, Michael F.; Rood, Stewart B.

2016-01-01

Gravel-bed river floodplains in mountain landscapes disproportionately concentrate diverse habitats, nutrient cycling, productivity of biota, and species interactions. Although stream ecologists know that river channel and floodplain habitats used by aquatic organisms are maintained by hydrologic regimes that mobilize gravel-bed sediments, terrestrial ecologists have largely been unaware of the importance of floodplain structures and processes to the life requirements of a wide variety of species. We provide insight into gravel-bed rivers as the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes. We show why gravel-bed river floodplains are the primary arena where interactions take place among aquatic, avian, and terrestrial species from microbes to grizzly bears and provide essential connectivity as corridors for movement for both aquatic and terrestrial species. Paradoxically, gravel-bed river floodplains are also disproportionately unprotected where human developments are concentrated. Structural modifications to floodplains such as roads, railways, and housing and hydrologicaltering hydroelectric or water storage dams have severe impacts to floodplain habitat diversity and productivity, restrict local and regional connectivity, and reduce the resilience of both aquatic and terrestrial species, including adaptation to climate change. To be effective, conservation efforts in glaciated mountain landscapes intended to benefit the widest variety of organisms need a paradigm shift that has gravel-bed rivers and their floodplains as the central focus and that prioritizes the maintenance or restoration of the intact structure and processes of these critically important systems throughout their length and breadth.

Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes.

PubMed

Hauer, F Richard; Locke, Harvey; Dreitz, Victoria J; Hebblewhite, Mark; Lowe, Winsor H; Muhlfeld, Clint C; Nelson, Cara R; Proctor, Michael F; Rood, Stewart B

2016-06-01

Gravel-bed river floodplains in mountain landscapes disproportionately concentrate diverse habitats, nutrient cycling, productivity of biota, and species interactions. Although stream ecologists know that river channel and floodplain habitats used by aquatic organisms are maintained by hydrologic regimes that mobilize gravel-bed sediments, terrestrial ecologists have largely been unaware of the importance of floodplain structures and processes to the life requirements of a wide variety of species. We provide insight into gravel-bed rivers as the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes. We show why gravel-bed river floodplains are the primary arena where interactions take place among aquatic, avian, and terrestrial species from microbes to grizzly bears and provide essential connectivity as corridors for movement for both aquatic and terrestrial species. Paradoxically, gravel-bed river floodplains are also disproportionately unprotected where human developments are concentrated. Structural modifications to floodplains such as roads, railways, and housing and hydrologic-altering hydroelectric or water storage dams have severe impacts to floodplain habitat diversity and productivity, restrict local and regional connectivity, and reduce the resilience of both aquatic and terrestrial species, including adaptation to climate change. To be effective, conservation efforts in glaciated mountain landscapes intended to benefit the widest variety of organisms need a paradigm shift that has gravel-bed rivers and their floodplains as the central focus and that prioritizes the maintenance or restoration of the intact structure and processes of these critically important systems throughout their length and breadth.

Multinomial modeling and an evaluation of common data-mining algorithms for identifying signals of disproportionate reporting in pharmacovigilance databases.

PubMed

Johnson, Kjell; Guo, Cen; Gosink, Mark; Wang, Vicky; Hauben, Manfred

2012-12-01

A principal objective of pharmacovigilance is to detect adverse drug reactions that are unknown or novel in terms of their clinical severity or frequency. One method is through inspection of spontaneous reporting system databases, which consist of millions of reports of patients experiencing adverse effects while taking one or more drugs. For such large databases, there is an increasing need for quantitative and automated screening tools to assist drug safety professionals in identifying drug-event combinations (DECs) worthy of further investigation. Existing algorithms can effectively identify problematic DECs when the frequencies are high. However these algorithms perform differently for low-frequency DECs. In this work, we provide a method based on the multinomial distribution that identifies signals of disproportionate reporting, especially for low-frequency combinations. In addition, we comprehensively compare the performance of commonly used algorithms with the new approach. Simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method, and analysis of the Adverse Event Reporting System data shows that the proposed method can help detect interesting signals. Furthermore, we suggest that these methods be used to identify DECs that occur significantly less frequently than expected, thus identifying potential alternative indications for these drugs. We provide an empirical example that demonstrates the importance of exploring underexpected DECs. Code to implement the proposed method is available in R on request from the corresponding authors. kjell@arboranalytics.com or Mark.M.Gosink@Pfizer.com Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Global forest loss disproportionately erodes biodiversity in intact landscapes.

PubMed

Betts, Matthew G; Wolf, Christopher; Ripple, William J; Phalan, Ben; Millers, Kimberley A; Duarte, Adam; Butchart, Stuart H M; Levi, Taal

2017-07-27

Global biodiversity loss is a critical environmental crisis, yet the lack of spatial data on biodiversity threats has hindered conservation strategies. Theory predicts that abrupt biodiversity declines are most likely to occur when habitat availability is reduced to very low levels in the landscape (10-30%). Alternatively, recent evidence indicates that biodiversity is best conserved by minimizing human intrusion into intact and relatively unfragmented landscapes. Here we use recently available forest loss data to test deforestation effects on International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List categories of extinction risk for 19,432 vertebrate species worldwide. As expected, deforestation substantially increased the odds of a species being listed as threatened, undergoing recent upgrading to a higher threat category and exhibiting declining populations. More importantly, we show that these risks were disproportionately high in relatively intact landscapes; even minimal deforestation has had severe consequences for vertebrate biodiversity. We found little support for the alternative hypothesis that forest loss is most detrimental in already fragmented landscapes. Spatial analysis revealed high-risk hot spots in Borneo, the central Amazon and the Congo Basin. In these regions, our model predicts that 121-219 species will become threatened under current rates of forest loss over the next 30 years. Given that only 17.9% of these high-risk areas are formally protected and only 8.9% have strict protection, new large-scale conservation efforts to protect intact forests are necessary to slow deforestation rates and to avert a new wave of global extinctions.

Tobacco harm perceptions and use among sexual and gender minorities: findings from a national sample of young adults in the United States.

PubMed

Ganz, Ollie; Johnson, Amanda L; Cohn, Amy M; Rath, Jessica; Horn, Kimberly; Vallone, Donna; Villanti, Andrea C

2018-06-01

In the United States, the prevalence of tobacco use among sexual and gender minorities (SGM) is higher compared to their non-SGM counterparts. Tobacco harm perceptions have gone largely unexamined as a potential mechanism supporting disproportionate tobacco use among this population. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between SGM and non-SGM young adults in harm perceptions of various tobacco products and tobacco use behavior and whether low tobacco-related harm perceptions moderate the relationship between identifying as a SGM and tobacco use behavior. This study used data from Wave 10 of the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study, a sample of U.S. young adults (ages 18-34). Data were collected from September to October 2016 and the study sample included 3089 individuals. Demographics, past 30-day use of cigarettes, little cigars/cigarillos/bidis and electronic cigarettes were assessed. Absolute and relative harm perceptions of these products were also examined. Identifying as a SGM and low tobacco harm perceptions were found to be positively associated with past 30-day tobacco use. There was no interaction between SGM status and harm perceptions on past 30-day tobacco use CONCLUSIONS: Findings confirm that SGM young adults continue to disproportionately use tobacco products, compared to non-SGM young adults. More research is needed to understand moderators of the relationship between SGM status and tobacco use in young adults. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes

PubMed Central

Hauer, F. Richard; Locke, Harvey; Dreitz, Victoria J.; Hebblewhite, Mark; Lowe, Winsor H.; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Nelson, Cara R.; Proctor, Michael F.; Rood, Stewart B.

2016-01-01

Gravel-bed river floodplains in mountain landscapes disproportionately concentrate diverse habitats, nutrient cycling, productivity of biota, and species interactions. Although stream ecologists know that river channel and floodplain habitats used by aquatic organisms are maintained by hydrologic regimes that mobilize gravel-bed sediments, terrestrial ecologists have largely been unaware of the importance of floodplain structures and processes to the life requirements of a wide variety of species. We provide insight into gravel-bed rivers as the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes. We show why gravel-bed river floodplains are the primary arena where interactions take place among aquatic, avian, and terrestrial species from microbes to grizzly bears and provide essential connectivity as corridors for movement for both aquatic and terrestrial species. Paradoxically, gravel-bed river floodplains are also disproportionately unprotected where human developments are concentrated. Structural modifications to floodplains such as roads, railways, and housing and hydrologic-altering hydroelectric or water storage dams have severe impacts to floodplain habitat diversity and productivity, restrict local and regional connectivity, and reduce the resilience of both aquatic and terrestrial species, including adaptation to climate change. To be effective, conservation efforts in glaciated mountain landscapes intended to benefit the widest variety of organisms need a paradigm shift that has gravel-bed rivers and their floodplains as the central focus and that prioritizes the maintenance or restoration of the intact structure and processes of these critically important systems throughout their length and breadth. PMID:27386570

A behavioral ecology approach to traffic accidents: interspecific variation in causes of traffic casualties among birds.

PubMed

Møller, Anders Pape; Erritzøe, Helga; Erritzøe, Johannes

2011-04-01

Birds and other animals are frequently killed by cars, causing the death of many million individuals per year. Why some species are killed more often than others has never been investigated. In this work hypothesized that risk taking behavior may affect the probability of certain kinds of individuals being killed disproportionately often. Furthermore, behavior of individuals on roads, abundance, habitat preferences, breeding sociality, and health status may all potentially affect the risk of being killed on roads. We used information on the abundance of road kills and the abundance in the surrounding environment of 50 species of birds obtained during regular censuses in 2001-2006 in a rural site in Denmark to test these predictions. The frequency of road kills increased linearly with abundance, while the proportion of individuals sitting on the road or flying low across the road only explained little additional variation in frequency of road casualties. After having accounted for abundance, we found that species with a short flight distance and hence taking greater risks when approached by a potential cause of danger were killed disproportionately often. In addition, solitary species, species with a high prevalence of Plasmodium infection, and species with a large bursa of Fabricius for their body size had a high susceptibility to being killed by cars. These findings suggest that a range of different factors indicative of risk-taking behavior, visual acuity and health status cause certain bird species to be susceptible to casualties due to cars.

Bacterial sulfur disproportionation constrains timing of neoproterozoic oxygenation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kunzmann, Marcus; Bui, Thi Hao; Crockford, Peter W.; Halverson, Galen P.; Scott, Clinton T.; Lyons, Timothy W.; Wing, Boswell A.

2017-01-01

Various geochemical records suggest that atmospheric O2 increased in the Ediacaran (635–541 Ma), broadly coincident with the emergence and diversification of large animals and increasing marine ecosystem complexity. Furthermore, geochemical proxies indicate that seawater sulfate levels rose at this time too, which has been hypothesized to reflect increased sulfide oxidation in marine sediments caused by sediment mixing of the newly evolved macrofauna. However, the exact timing of oxygenation is not yet understood, and there are claims for significant oxygenation prior to the Ediacaran. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that physical mixing of sediments did not become important until the late Silurian. Here we report a multiple sulfur isotope record from a ca. 835–630 Ma succession from Svalbard, further supported by data from Proterozoic strata in Canada, Australia, Russia, and the United States, in order to investigate the timing of oxygenation. We present isotopic evidence for onset of globally significant bacterial sulfur disproportionation and reoxidative sulfur cycling following the 635 Ma Marinoan glaciation. Widespread sulfide oxidation helps to explain the observed first-order increase in seawater sulfate concentration from the earliest Ediacaran to the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary by reducing the amount of sulfur buried as pyrite. Expansion of reoxidative sulfur cycling to a global scale also indicates increasing environmental O2 levels. Thus, our data suggest that increasing atmospheric O2 levels may have played a role in the emergence of the Ediacaran macrofauna and increasing marine ecosystem complexity.

Proinsulin maturation disorder is a contributor to the defect of subsequent conversion to insulin in {beta}-cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Jie, E-mail: jie.wang2@osumc.edu; Osei, Kwame

2011-07-22

Highlights: {yields} Primary proinsulin maturation disorder is inherent in Ins2{sup +/Akita} islets/{beta}-cells. {yields} A consequence is the inefficient conversion of proinsulin to insulin. {yields} Post-translational defects occur as well in the involved PC1/3 and PC2 convertases. {yields} Proinsulin maturation chaos results in defects in the following conversion process. {yields} A link of the proinsulin maturation disorder and hyperproinsulinemia is suggested. -- Abstract: Disproportionate hyperproinsulinemia is an indicator of {beta}-cell dysfunction in diabetes and the basis underlying this abnormality remains obscure. Recently, we have found proinsulin is an aggregation-prone molecule inherent with a low relative folding rate and maintains a homeostaticmore » balance of natively and plentiful non-natively folded states (i.e., proinsulin homeostasis, PIHO) in normal {beta}-cells as a result of the integration of maturation and disposal processes. PIHO is susceptible to environmental and genetic influences. Perturbation of PIHO produces a number of toxic consequences with known association to {beta}-cell failure in diabetes. To explore whether the perturbation of PIHO has a link to disproportionate hyperproinsulinemia, we investigated proinsulin conversion and the involved prohormone convertase 1/3 (PC1/3) and 2 (PC2) in mouse Ins2{sup +/Akita} islets/{beta}-cells that preserve a primary PIHO disorder due to a mutation (C96Y) in the insulin 2 (Ins2) gene. Our metabolic-labeling studies found an increased ratio of proinsulin to insulin in the cellular or released proteins of Ins2{sup +/Akita} islets. Histological, metabolic-labeling, and RT-PCR analyses revealed decreases of the PC1/3 and PC2 immunoreactivities in the {beta}-cells of Ins2{sup +/Akita} islets in spite of no declines of these two convertases at the transcriptional and translational levels. Immunoblot analyses in cloned Ins2{sup +/Akita} {beta}-cells further confirmed the increased ratio of proinsulin to insulin despite the levels of PC1/3 and PC2 proteins were not reduced somehow. The findings demonstrate that the perturbation of PIHO results in defects in the subsequent conversion process of proinsulin and is a contributor to the occurrence of disproportionate hyperproinsulinemia in diabetes.« less

Do geographically isolated wetlands influence landscape functions?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cohen, Matthew J.; Creed, Irena F.; Alexander, Laurie C.; Basu, Nandita; Calhoun, Aram J.K.; Craft, Christopher; D’Amico, Ellen; DeKeyser, Edward S.; Fowler, Laurie; Golden, Heather E.; Jawitz, James W.; Kalla, Peter; Kirkman, L. Katherine; Lane, Charles R.; Lang, Megan; Leibowitz, Scott G.; Lewis, David Bruce; Marton, John; McLaughlin, Daniel L.; Mushet, David M.; Raanan-Kiperwas, Hadas; Rains, Mark C.; Smith, Lora; Walls, Susan C.

2015-01-01

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs), those surrounded by uplands, exchange materials, energy, and organisms with other elements in hydrological and habitat networks, contributing to landscape functions, such as flow generation, nutrient and sediment retention, and biodiversity support. GIWs constitute most of the wetlands in many North American landscapes, provide a disproportionately large fraction of wetland edges where many functions are enhanced, and form complexes with other water bodies to create spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the timing, flow paths, and magnitude of network connectivity. These attributes signal a critical role for GIWs in sustaining a portfolio of landscape functions, but legal protections remain weak despite preferential loss from many landscapes. GIWs lack persistent surface water connections, but this condition does not imply the absence of hydrological, biogeochemical, and biological exchanges with nearby and downstream waters. Although hydrological and biogeochemical connectivity is often episodic or slow (e.g., via groundwater), hydrologic continuity and limited evaporative solute enrichment suggest both flow generation and solute and sediment retention. Similarly, whereas biological connectivity usually requires overland dispersal, numerous organisms, including many rare or threatened species, use both GIWs and downstream waters at different times or life stages, suggesting that GIWs are critical elements of landscape habitat mosaics. Indeed, weaker hydrologic connectivity with downstream waters and constrained biological connectivity with other landscape elements are precisely what enhances some GIW functions and enables others. Based on analysis of wetland geography and synthesis of wetland functions, we argue that sustaining landscape functions requires conserving the entire continuum of wetland connectivity, including GIWs.

Nuisance Ecology: Do Scavenging Condors Exact Foraging Costs on Pumas in Patagonia?

PubMed Central

Elbroch, L. Mark; Wittmer, Heiko U.

2013-01-01

Predation risk describes the energetic cost an animal suffers when making a trade off between maximizing energy intake and minimizing threats to its survival. We tested whether Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) influenced the foraging behaviors of a top predator in Patagonia, the puma (Puma concolor), in ways comparable to direct risks of predation for prey to address three questions: 1) Do condors exact a foraging cost on pumas?; 2) If so, do pumas exhibit behaviors indicative of these risks?; and 3) Do pumas display predictable behaviors associated with prey species foraging in risky environments? Using GPS location data, we located 433 kill sites of 9 pumas and quantified their kill rates. Based upon time pumas spent at a carcass, we quantified handling time. Pumas abandoned >10% of edible meat at 133 of 266 large carcasses after a single night, and did so most often in open grasslands where their carcasses were easily detected by condors. Our data suggested that condors exacted foraging costs on pumas by significantly decreasing puma handling times at carcasses, and that pumas increased their kill rates by 50% relative to those reported for North America to compensate for these losses. Finally, we determined that the relative risks of detection and associated harassment by condors, rather than prey densities, explained puma “giving up times” (GUTs) across structurally variable risk classes in the study area, and that, like many prey species, pumas disproportionately hunted in high-risk, high-resource reward areas. PMID:23301093

Tropical Soil Carbon Stocks do not Reflect Aboveground Forest Biomass Across Geological and Rainfall Gradients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cusack, D. F.; Markesteijn, L.; Turner, B. L.

2016-12-01

Soil organic carbon (C) dynamics present a large source of uncertainty in global C cycle models, and inhibit our ability to predict effects of climate change. Tropical wet and seasonal forests exert a disproportionate influence on the global C cycle relative to their land area because they are the most C-rich ecosystems on Earth, containing 25-40% of global terrestrial C stocks. While significant advances have been made to map aboveground C stocks in tropical forests, determining soil C stocks using remote sensing technology is still not possible for closed-canopy forests. It is unclear to what extent aboveground C stocks can be used to predict soil C stocks across tropical forests. Here we present 1-m-deep soil organic C stocks for 42 tropical forest sites across rainfall and geological gradients in Panama. We show that soil C stocks do not correspond to aboveground plant biomass or to litterfall productivity in these humid tropical forests. Rather, soil C stocks were strongly and positively predicted by fine root biomass, soil clay content, and rainfall (R2 = 0.47, p < 0.05). Fine root biomass, in turn, was most strongly predicted by total extractable soil base cations (R2 = 0.24, p < 0.05, negative relationship). Our measures of tropical soil C and its relationships with climatic and soil chemical characteristics form an important basis for improving model estimates of soil C stocks and predictions of climate change effects on tropical C storage.

Do geographically isolated wetlands influence landscape functions?

PubMed Central

Cohen, Matthew J.; Creed, Irena F.; Alexander, Laurie; Basu, Nandita B.; Calhoun, Aram J. K.; Craft, Christopher; D’Amico, Ellen; DeKeyser, Edward; Fowler, Laurie; Golden, Heather E.; Jawitz, James W.; Kalla, Peter; Kirkman, L. Katherine; Lane, Charles R.; Lang, Megan; Leibowitz, Scott G.; Lewis, David Bruce; Marton, John; McLaughlin, Daniel L.; Mushet, David M.; Raanan-Kiperwas, Hadas; Rains, Mark C.; Smith, Lora; Walls, Susan C.

2016-01-01

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs), those surrounded by uplands, exchange materials, energy, and organisms with other elements in hydrological and habitat networks, contributing to landscape functions, such as flow generation, nutrient and sediment retention, and biodiversity support. GIWs constitute most of the wetlands in many North American landscapes, provide a disproportionately large fraction of wetland edges where many functions are enhanced, and form complexes with other water bodies to create spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the timing, flow paths, and magnitude of network connectivity. These attributes signal a critical role for GIWs in sustaining a portfolio of landscape functions, but legal protections remain weak despite preferential loss from many landscapes. GIWs lack persistent surface water connections, but this condition does not imply the absence of hydrological, biogeochemical, and biological exchanges with nearby and downstream waters. Although hydrological and biogeochemical connectivity is often episodic or slow (e.g., via groundwater), hydrologic continuity and limited evaporative solute enrichment suggest both flow generation and solute and sediment retention. Similarly, whereas biological connectivity usually requires overland dispersal, numerous organisms, including many rare or threatened species, use both GIWs and downstream waters at different times or life stages, suggesting that GIWs are critical elements of landscape habitat mosaics. Indeed, weaker hydrologic connectivity with downstream waters and constrained biological connectivity with other landscape elements are precisely what enhances some GIW functions and enables others. Based on analysis of wetland geography and synthesis of wetland functions, we argue that sustaining landscape functions requires conserving the entire continuum of wetland connectivity, including GIWs. PMID:26858425

Population genomics of the honey bee reveals strong signatures of positive selection on worker traits.

PubMed

Harpur, Brock A; Kent, Clement F; Molodtsova, Daria; Lebon, Jonathan M D; Alqarni, Abdulaziz S; Owayss, Ayman A; Zayed, Amro

2014-02-18

Most theories used to explain the evolution of eusociality rest upon two key assumptions: mutations affecting the phenotype of sterile workers evolve by positive selection if the resulting traits benefit fertile kin, and that worker traits provide the primary mechanism allowing social insects to adapt to their environment. Despite the common view that positive selection drives phenotypic evolution of workers, we know very little about the prevalence of positive selection acting on the genomes of eusocial insects. We mapped the footprints of positive selection in Apis mellifera through analysis of 40 individual genomes, allowing us to identify thousands of genes and regulatory sequences with signatures of adaptive evolution over multiple timescales. We found Apoidea- and Apis-specific genes to be enriched for signatures of positive selection, indicating that novel genes play a disproportionately large role in adaptive evolution of eusocial insects. Worker-biased proteins have higher signatures of adaptive evolution relative to queen-biased proteins, supporting the view that worker traits are key to adaptation. We also found genes regulating worker division of labor to be enriched for signs of positive selection. Finally, genes associated with worker behavior based on analysis of brain gene expression were highly enriched for adaptive protein and cis-regulatory evolution. Our study highlights the significant contribution of worker phenotypes to adaptive evolution in social insects, and provides a wealth of knowledge on the loci that influence fitness in honey bees.

Population genomics of the honey bee reveals strong signatures of positive selection on worker traits

PubMed Central

Harpur, Brock A.; Kent, Clement F.; Molodtsova, Daria; Lebon, Jonathan M. D.; Alqarni, Abdulaziz S.; Owayss, Ayman A.; Zayed, Amro

2014-01-01

Most theories used to explain the evolution of eusociality rest upon two key assumptions: mutations affecting the phenotype of sterile workers evolve by positive selection if the resulting traits benefit fertile kin, and that worker traits provide the primary mechanism allowing social insects to adapt to their environment. Despite the common view that positive selection drives phenotypic evolution of workers, we know very little about the prevalence of positive selection acting on the genomes of eusocial insects. We mapped the footprints of positive selection in Apis mellifera through analysis of 40 individual genomes, allowing us to identify thousands of genes and regulatory sequences with signatures of adaptive evolution over multiple timescales. We found Apoidea- and Apis-specific genes to be enriched for signatures of positive selection, indicating that novel genes play a disproportionately large role in adaptive evolution of eusocial insects. Worker-biased proteins have higher signatures of adaptive evolution relative to queen-biased proteins, supporting the view that worker traits are key to adaptation. We also found genes regulating worker division of labor to be enriched for signs of positive selection. Finally, genes associated with worker behavior based on analysis of brain gene expression were highly enriched for adaptive protein and cis-regulatory evolution. Our study highlights the significant contribution of worker phenotypes to adaptive evolution in social insects, and provides a wealth of knowledge on the loci that influence fitness in honey bees. PMID:24488971

Nuisance ecology: do scavenging condors exact foraging costs on pumas in Patagonia?

PubMed

Elbroch, L Mark; Wittmer, Heiko U

2013-01-01

Predation risk describes the energetic cost an animal suffers when making a trade off between maximizing energy intake and minimizing threats to its survival. We tested whether Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) influenced the foraging behaviors of a top predator in Patagonia, the puma (Puma concolor), in ways comparable to direct risks of predation for prey to address three questions: 1) Do condors exact a foraging cost on pumas?; 2) If so, do pumas exhibit behaviors indicative of these risks?; and 3) Do pumas display predictable behaviors associated with prey species foraging in risky environments? Using GPS location data, we located 433 kill sites of 9 pumas and quantified their kill rates. Based upon time pumas spent at a carcass, we quantified handling time. Pumas abandoned >10% of edible meat at 133 of 266 large carcasses after a single night, and did so most often in open grasslands where their carcasses were easily detected by condors. Our data suggested that condors exacted foraging costs on pumas by significantly decreasing puma handling times at carcasses, and that pumas increased their kill rates by 50% relative to those reported for North America to compensate for these losses. Finally, we determined that the relative risks of detection and associated harassment by condors, rather than prey densities, explained puma "giving up times" (GUTs) across structurally variable risk classes in the study area, and that, like many prey species, pumas disproportionately hunted in high-risk, high-resource reward areas.

Immigrants in the one percent: The national origin of top wealth owners

PubMed Central

Keister, Lisa A.; Aronson, Brian

2017-01-01

Background Economic inequality in the United States is extreme, but little is known about the national origin of affluent households. Households in the top one percent by total wealth own vastly disproportionate quantities of household assets and have correspondingly high levels of economic, social, and political influence. The overrepresentation of white natives (i.e., those born in the U.S.) among high-wealth households is well-documented, but changing migration dynamics suggest that a growing portion of top households may be immigrants. Methods Because no single survey dataset contains top wealth holders and data about country of origin, this paper uses two publicly-available data sets: the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Multiple imputation is used to impute country of birth from the SIPP into the SCF. Descriptive statistics are used to demonstrate reliability of the method, to estimate the prevalence of immigrants among top wealth holders, and to document patterns of asset ownership among affluent immigrants. Results Significant numbers of top wealth holders who are usually classified as white natives may be immigrants. Many top wealth holders appear to be European and Canadian immigrants, and increasing numbers of top wealth holders are likely from Asia and Latin America as well. Results suggest that of those in the top one percent of wealth holders, approximately 3% are European and Canadian immigrants, .5% are from Mexico or Cuban, and 1.7% are from Asia (especially Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and India). Ownership of key assets varies considerably across affluent immigrant groups. Conclusion Although the percentage of top wealth holders who are immigrants is relatively small, these percentages represent large numbers of households with considerable resources and corresponding social and political influence. Evidence that the propensity to allocate wealth to real and financial assets varies across immigrant groups suggests that wealth ownership is more global than previous research suggests and that immigrant groups are likely to become more prevalent in top wealth positions in the U.S. As the representation of immigrants in top wealth positions grows, their economic, social, and political influence is likely to increase as well. PMID:28231335

Immigrants in the one percent: The national origin of top wealth owners.

PubMed

Keister, Lisa A; Aronson, Brian

2017-01-01

Economic inequality in the United States is extreme, but little is known about the national origin of affluent households. Households in the top one percent by total wealth own vastly disproportionate quantities of household assets and have correspondingly high levels of economic, social, and political influence. The overrepresentation of white natives (i.e., those born in the U.S.) among high-wealth households is well-documented, but changing migration dynamics suggest that a growing portion of top households may be immigrants. Because no single survey dataset contains top wealth holders and data about country of origin, this paper uses two publicly-available data sets: the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Multiple imputation is used to impute country of birth from the SIPP into the SCF. Descriptive statistics are used to demonstrate reliability of the method, to estimate the prevalence of immigrants among top wealth holders, and to document patterns of asset ownership among affluent immigrants. Significant numbers of top wealth holders who are usually classified as white natives may be immigrants. Many top wealth holders appear to be European and Canadian immigrants, and increasing numbers of top wealth holders are likely from Asia and Latin America as well. Results suggest that of those in the top one percent of wealth holders, approximately 3% are European and Canadian immigrants, .5% are from Mexico or Cuban, and 1.7% are from Asia (especially Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and India). Ownership of key assets varies considerably across affluent immigrant groups. Although the percentage of top wealth holders who are immigrants is relatively small, these percentages represent large numbers of households with considerable resources and corresponding social and political influence. Evidence that the propensity to allocate wealth to real and financial assets varies across immigrant groups suggests that wealth ownership is more global than previous research suggests and that immigrant groups are likely to become more prevalent in top wealth positions in the U.S. As the representation of immigrants in top wealth positions grows, their economic, social, and political influence is likely to increase as well.

The distribution of physiotherapists in ontario: understanding the market drivers.

PubMed

Holyoke, Paul; Verrier, Molly C; Landry, Michel D; Deber, Raisa B

2012-01-01

To understand the factors that affect the distribution of physiotherapists in Ontario by examining three potential influences in the multi-payer physiotherapy (PT) market: population need, critical mass (related to academic health science centres [AHSCs]), and market forces. Physiotherapist density and distribution were calculated from 2003 and 2005 College of Physiotherapists of Ontario registration data. Physiotherapists' workplaces were classified as not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals, other NFP, or for-profit (FP), and their locations were classified by census division (CD) types (cities and counties). Physiotherapist density varied significantly and distribution was neither uniformly responsive to population need, nor driven primarily by market forces. The largest factor was an AHSC in a CD; physiotherapists locate disproportionately in NFP hospitals in AHSCs rather than in the growing FP sector. While some patterns can be discerned in the distribution and densities of physiotherapists across Ontario, further work needs to be done to identify why population need and market forces appear to be less influential, and why CDs with AHSCs are so attractive to physiotherapists. With this additional information, it may be possible to identify ways to influence uneven distribution in the future.

The Microbiome in Mental Health: Potential Contribution of Gut Microbiota in Disease and Pharmacotherapy Management.

PubMed

Flowers, Stephanie A; Ellingrod, Vicki L

2015-10-01

The gut microbiome is composed of ~10(13) -10(14) microbial cells and viruses that exist in a symbiotic bidirectional communicative relationship with the host. Bacterial functions in the gut have an important role in healthy host metabolic function, and dysbiosis can contribute to the pathology of many medical conditions. Alterations in the relationship between gut microbiota and host have gained some attention in mental health because new evidence supports the association of gut bacteria to cognitive and emotional processes. Of interest, illnesses such as major depressive disorder are disproportionately prevalent in patients with gastrointestinal illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease, which pathologically has been strongly linked to microbiome function. Not only is the microbiome associated with the disease itself, but it may also influence the effectiveness or adverse effects associated with pharmacologic agents used to treat these disorders. This field of study may also provide new insights on how dietary agents may help manage mental illness both directly as well as though their influence on the therapeutic and adverse effects of psychotropic agents. © 2015 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

Parents, peers and pornography: the influence of formative sexual scripts on adult HIV sexual risk behaviour among Black men in the USA.

PubMed

Hussen, Sophia A; Bowleg, Lisa; Sangaramoorthy, Thurka; Malebranche, David J

2012-01-01

Black men in the USA experience disproportionately high rates of HIV infection, particularly in the Southeastern part of the country. We conducted 90 qualitative in-depth interviews with Black men living in the state of Georgia and analysed the transcripts using Sexual Script Theory to: (1) characterise the sources and content of sexual scripts that Black men were exposed to during their childhood and adolescence and (2) describe the potential influence of formative scripts on adult HIV sexual risk behaviour. Our analyses highlighted salient sources of cultural scenarios (parents, peers, pornography, sexual education and television), interpersonal scripts (early sex- play, older female partners, experiences of child abuse) and intrapsychic scripts that participants described. Stratification of participant responses based on sexual-risk behaviour revealed that lower- and higher-risk men described exposure to similar scripts during their formative years; however, lower-risk men reported an ability to cognitively process and challenge the validity of risk-promoting scripts that they encountered. Implications for future research are discussed.

Breast cancer survivorship: the role of perceived discrimination and sexual orientation.

PubMed

Jabson, Jennifer M; Donatelle, Rebecca J; Bowen, Deborah

2011-03-01

Breast cancer disproportionately affects sexual minority women (SMW) compared to heterosexual women and a small but growing literature indicates that SMW may have diminished survivorship outcomes; outcomes that are measurably and importantly different from heterosexual breast cancer survivors. However, it remains unknown how sexual orientation influences breast cancer survivorship outcomes such as quality of life. One possible route of influence is SMW's perceived discrimination in the health care setting. This cross-sectional study examines SMW perceptions of discrimination as one of the multiple facets of the breast cancer survivorship process. This study assessed SMW breast cancer survivor's perceptions of discrimination during their breast cancer treatment experience and secondarily, examined the role of this perceived discrimination on SMW's quality of life. Sixty-eight purposefully sampled sexual minority breast cancer survivors completed assessments of quality of life, perceived discrimination, perceived social support and perceived stress via an online survey. Statistical analyses point to perceived discrimination and perceived social support as important indicators for predicting SMW's quality of life. Future research on SMW's breast cancer survivorship should include measures of perceived discrimination.

Factors influencing HIV-risk behaviors among HIV-positive urban African Americans.

PubMed

Plowden, Keith O; Fletcher, Audwin; Miller, J Lawrence

2005-01-01

Urban African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV, the virus associated with AIDS. Although incidence and mortality appear to be decreasing in some populations, they continue to remain steady among inner-city African Americans. A major concern is the number of HIV-positive individuals who continue to practice high-risk behaviors. Understanding factors that increase risks is essential for the development and implementation of effective prevention initiatives. Following a constructionist epistemology, this study used ethnography to explore social and cultural factors that influence high-risk behaviors among inner-city HIV-positive African Americans. Leininger's culture care diversity and universality theory guided the study. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted with HIV-positive African Americans in the community to explore social and cultural factors that increase HIV-risky behaviors. For this study, family/kinship, economic, and education factors played a significant role in risky behaviors. Reducing HIV disparity among African Americans is dependent on designing appropriate interventions that enhance protective factors. Clinicians providing care to HIV-positive individuals can play a key role in reducing transmission by recognizing and incorporating these factors when designing effective prevention interventions.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Imamura, Kayo; Matsuura, Takanori; Ye, Zhengmao

Disproportionating enzyme from potato was crystallized and preliminarily analyzed using X-ray diffraction. Disproportionating enzyme (D-enzyme; EC 2.4.1.25) is a 59 kDa protein that belongs to the α-amylase family. D-enzyme catalyses intramolecular and intermolecular transglycosylation reactions of α-1,4 glucan. A crystal of the D-enzyme from potato was obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Preliminary X-ray data showed that the crystal diffracts to 2.0 Å resolution and belongs to space group C222{sub 1}, with unit-cell parameters a = 69.7, b = 120.3, c = 174.2 Å.

Investigation of CNTD Mechanism and its Effect on Microstructural Properties.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

Equilibrium Degree of Completion of SiCl4 Reduction 31 as a Function of Temperature, Pressure and Degree ofDilution. 9. Equilibrium Degree of Completion...Disproportionation Study with SiCl4 . A) 500/2500X B) 600/3000X 11. Morphology of Deposit Made in the Silicon Halide 39 Disproportionation Study with SiHCl 3. A...at a constant ratio of SiCl4 to NH 3 of 0.2 (except run #29, see Table A-1 Appendix I). The active gas partial pressure was calculated according to the

The preparation of calcium superoxide at subambient temperatures and pressures. [oxygen source for breathing apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballou, E. V.; Wood, P. C.; Spitze, L. A.; Wydeven, T.; Stein, R.

1977-01-01

The effects of disproportionations at lower temperatures and also of a range of reaction chamber pressures on the preparation of calcium superoxide, Ca(O2)2, from calcium peroxide diperoxyhydrate were studied. About 60% purity of product was obtained by a disproportionation procedure. The significance of features of this procedure for a prospective scale-up of the mass prepared in a single experiment is considered. The optimum pressure for product purity was determined, and the use of a molecular sieve desiccant is described.

Charge Order in (TMTTF)2TaF6 by Infrared Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oka, Yuki; Matsunaga, Noriaki; Nomura, Kazushige; Kawamoto, Atsuhi; Yamamoto, Kaoru; Yakushi, Kyuya

2015-11-01

We have performed infrared spectroscopy in (TMTTF)2TaF6 (TMTTF: tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene) to investigate the relationship between the charge order (CO) state and the antiferromagnetic (AF) insulating ground state. A clear peak splitting corresponding to the charge disproportionation was observed below the CO transition temperature. We estimated the degree of charge disproportionation, Δρ = ρrich - ρpoor, as 0.28e from the peak splitting and found that the CO state coexists with the AF state and there is no charge redistribution below the AF transition.

The Influence of Community Disadvantage and Masculinity Ideology on Number of Sexual Partners: A Prospective Analysis of Young Adult, Rural Black Men.

PubMed

Kogan, Steven M; Cho, Junhan; Barton, Allen W; Duprey, Erinn B; Hicks, Megan R; Brown, Geoffrey L

2017-01-01

Young, rural Black men are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a consequence, in part, of multiple sexual partnerships. We conducted a prospective study that examined the influence of masculinity ideology on changes in numbers of sexual partners in this population. We focused on a set of high-risk attitudes termed reputational masculinity. Community disadvantage during young adulthood was examined as a risk factor for reputational masculinity ideology, and vocational commitment was examined as a potential protective factor. The sample included 505 African American men ages 19 to 22 from high-poverty rural communities. Men reported their numbers of sexual partners during the past three months, masculinity ideology, community disadvantage, and vocational commitment. Follow-up data were collected 18 months after baseline assessment. Negative binomial modeling was used to test study hypotheses. Results indicated that community disadvantage was associated with increases in reputational masculinity during early adulthood, which in turn were linked to increases in numbers of sexual partners. Vocational commitment interacted with reputational masculinity to forecast numbers of sexual partners, attenuating the influence of reputational masculinity. Reputational masculinity and promotion of engagement with the workplace may be important targets for interventions designed to reduce sexual risk behavior.

Impact of genetic risk information and type of disease on perceived risk, anticipated affect, and expected consequences of genetic tests.

PubMed

Cameron, Linda D; Sherman, Kerry A; Marteau, Theresa M; Brown, Paul M

2009-05-01

Genetic tests vary in their prediction of disease occurrence, with some mutations conferring relatively low risk and others indicating near certainty. The authors assessed how increments in absolute risk of disease influence risk perceptions, interest, and expected consequences of genetic tests for diseases of varying severity. Adults (N = 752), recruited from New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom for an online analogue study, were randomly assigned to receive information about a test of genetic risk for diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, or lung cancer. The lifetime risk varied across conditions by 10% increments, from 20% to 100%. Participants completed measures of perceived likelihood of disease for individuals with mutations, risk-related affect, interest, and testing consequences. Analyses revealed two increment clusters yielding differences in likelihood perceptions: A "moderate-risk" cluster (20%-70%), and a "high-risk" cluster (80%-100%). Risk increment influenced anticipated worry, feelings of risk, testing-induced distress, and family obligations, with nonlinear patterns including disproportionately high responses for the 50% increment. Risk increment did not alter testing interest or perceived benefits. These patterns of effects held across the four diseases. Magnitude of risk from genetic testing has a nonlinear influence on risk-related appraisals and affect but is unrelated to test interest.

Demographic, Clinical, and Service Utilization Factors Associated with Suicide-Related Visits among Alaska Native and American Indian Adults.

PubMed

Dillard, Denise A; Avey, Jaedon P; Robinson, Renee F; Smith, Julia J; Beals, Janette; Manson, Spero M; Comtois, Katherine Anne

2017-02-01

Alaska Native and American Indian people (AN/AIs) are disproportionately affected by suicide. Within a large AN/AI health service organization, demographic, clinical, and service utilization factors were compared between those with a suicide-related health visit and those without. Cases had higher odds of a behavioral health diagnosis, treatment for an injury, behavioral health specialty care visits, and opioid medication dispensation in the year prior to a suicide-related visit compared to gender-, age-, and residence- (urban versus rural) matched controls. Odds of a suicide-related visit were lower among those with private insurance and those with non-primary care ambulatory clinic visits. © 2016 The American Association of Suicidology.

Periodontal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease: emerging epidemiologic and biologic evidence.

PubMed

Agossa, K; Dendooven, A; Dubuquoy, L; Gower-Rousseau, C; Delcourt-Debruyne, E; Capron, M

2017-06-01

Inflammatory bowel disease and periodontitis are both described as a disproportionate mucosal inflammatory response to a microbial environment in susceptible patients. Moreover, these two conditions share major environmental and lifestyle-related risk factors. Despite this intriguing pathogenic parallel, large-scale studies and basic research have only recently considered periodontal outcomes as relevant data. There are mounting and consistent arguments, from recent epidemiologic studies and animal models, that these two conditions might be related. This article is a comprehensive and critical up-to-date review of the current evidence and future prospects in understanding the biologic and epidemiologic relationships between periodontal status and inflammatory bowel disease. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dead wood relative to slope severity in mesic loess bluff hardwood forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twedt, Daniel J.

2012-01-01

To aid in identification of land within Vicksburg National Military Park that was subjected to forest restoration during the 1930s, I evaluated the hypothesized relationships between maximum live tree diameter or dead wood (standing and down) and severity of slope. Disproportionate mortality among early-successional, pioneer tree species suggested maturation of pioneer upland hardwood forests. As such, input and decomposition of dead wood have likely approached equilibrium. Thus, I did not detect a useful predictive relationship between dead wood (standing or down) or maximum diameter of live trees and severity of slope. Lack of relationships between slope and large diameter trees or volume of dead wood resulted in an inability to evaluate former land use based on these parameters.

A Potential Alternative against Neurodegenerative Diseases: Phytodrugs

PubMed Central

Pérez-Hernández, Jesús; Zaldívar-Machorro, Víctor Javier; Villanueva-Porras, David; Vega-Ávila, Elisa; Chavarría, Anahí

2016-01-01

Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) primarily affect the neurons in the human brain secondary to oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. ND are more common and have a disproportionate impact on countries with longer life expectancies and represent the fourth highest source of overall disease burden in the high-income countries. A large majority of the medicinal plant compounds, such as polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenes, have therapeutic properties. Polyphenols are the most common active compounds in herbs and vegetables consumed by man. The biological bioactivity of polyphenols against neurodegeneration is mainly due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiamyloidogenic effects. Multiple scientific studies support the use of herbal medicine in the treatment of ND; however, relevant aspects are still pending to explore such as metabolic analysis, pharmacokinetics, and brain bioavailability. PMID:26881043

'Racial differences have to be considered': Lauretta Bender, Bellevue Hospital, and the African American psyche, 1936-52.

PubMed

Doyle, Dennis

2010-06-01

This paper examines one US psychiatrist's engagement between 1936 and 1952 with a racialist strain of evolutionary thought. When Lauretta Bender began working with Bellevue Hospital's disproportionately black population, the psychiatric literature still circulated the crude evolutionary proposition that blacks remained stuck at a more primitive stage of development. In the 1930s, drawing insights from holistic, mechanistic and environmentalist thinking on the relationship between mind and body, Bender developed her own more circumspect racialist position. Although she largely abandoned her underdetermined version of racialism in the 1940s for an approach that left out race as an active factor of analysis, this paper contends that she probably never wrote off black primitivity as a theoretical possibility.

Comparison of quadrant-specific breast cancer incidence trends in the United States and England between 1975 and 2013.

PubMed

Bright, C J; Rea, D W; Francis, A; Feltbower, R G

2016-10-01

UK breast cancer incidence rates suggest that upper outer quadrant (UOQ) cancers have risen disproportionately compared with other areas over time. We aimed to provide a comparison of the trend in quadrant-specific breast cancer incidence between the United States (US) and England, and determine whether a disproportionate UOQ increase is present. Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registry data were obtained on 630,007 female breast cancers from 1975 to 2013. English cancer registry data were obtained on 1,121,134 female breast cancers from 1979 to 2013. Temporal incidence changes were analysed using negative binomial regression. Interaction terms determined whether incidence changes were similar between sites. English breast cancer incidence in the UOQ rose significantly from 13% to 28% from 1979 to 2013 whereas no significant increase was observed among SEER data. The significant interaction between quadrant and year of diagnosis (p<0.001) in both SEER and English data indicates that breast cancer incidence in each quadrant changed at a different rate. Incidence in the UOQ rose disproportionately compared to the nipple (SEER IRR=0.81, p<0.001; England IRR=0.78, p<0.001) and axillary tail (SEER IRR=0.87, p=0.018; England IRR=0.69, p<0.001) in both SEER and England. In addition, incidence rose disproportionately in the UOQ compared to non-site-specific tumours in England (Overlapping lesions IRR=0.81, p=0.002; NOS IRR=0.78, p<0.001). The proportion of non-site-specific tumours was substantially higher in England than SEER throughout the study period (62% in England; 39% in SEER). Breast cancer incidence in the UOQ increased disproportionately compared to non-site-specific tumours in England but not in SEER, likely due to the decrease in non-site-specific tumours observed in England over time. There may be real differences in incidence between the two countries, possibly due to differences in aetiology, but is much more likely to be an artefact of changing data collection methods and improvements in site coding in either country. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mapping environmental injustices: pitfalls and potential of geographic information systems in assessing environmental health and equity.

PubMed Central

Maantay, Juliana

2002-01-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used increasingly to map instances of environmental injustice, the disproportionate exposure of certain populations to environmental hazards. Some of the technical and analytic difficulties of mapping environmental injustice are outlined in this article, along with suggestions for using GIS to better assess and predict environmental health and equity. I examine 13 GIS-based environmental equity studies conducted within the past decade and use a study of noxious land use locations in the Bronx, New York, to illustrate and evaluate the differences in two common methods of determining exposure extent and the characteristics of proximate populations. Unresolved issues in mapping environmental equity and health include lack of comprehensive hazards databases; the inadequacy of current exposure indices; the need to develop realistic methodologies for determining the geographic extent of exposure and the characteristics of the affected populations; and the paucity and insufficiency of health assessment data. GIS have great potential to help us understand the spatial relationship between pollution and health. Refinements in exposure indices; the use of dispersion modeling and advanced proximity analysis; the application of neighborhood-scale analysis; and the consideration of other factors such as zoning and planning policies will enable more conclusive findings. The environmental equity studies reviewed in this article found a disproportionate environmental burden based on race and/or income. It is critical now to demonstrate correspondence between environmental burdens and adverse health impacts--to show the disproportionate effects of pollution rather than just the disproportionate distribution of pollution sources. PMID:11929725

Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking

PubMed Central

Gorman, Thomas E.; Green, C. Shawn

2016-01-01

Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. ‘media multitasking’) is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today’s society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population. PMID:27086504

The genetics of inviability and male sterility in hybrids between Anopheles gambiae and An. arabiensis.

PubMed

Slotman, M; Della Torre, A; Powell, J R

2004-05-01

Male hybrids between Anopheles gambiae and An. arabiensis suffer from hybrid sterility, and inviability effects are sometimes present as well. We examined the genetic basis of these reproductive barriers between the two species, using 21 microsatellite markers. Generally, recessive inviability effects were found on the X chromosome of gambiae that are incompatible with at least one factor on each arabiensis autosome. Inviability is complete when the gambiae and arabiensis inviability factors are hemi- or homozygous. Using a QTL mapping approach, regions that contribute to male hybrid sterility were also identified. The X chromosome has a disproportionately large effect on male hybrid sterility. Additionally, several moderate-to-large autosomal QTL were found in both species. The effect of these autosomal QTL is contingent upon the presence of an X chromosome from the other species. Substantial regions of the autosomes do not contribute markedly to male hybrid sterility. Finally, no evidence for epistatic interactions between conspecific sterility loci was found.

Carbon Cycling and Storage in Mangrove Forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alongi, Daniel M.

2014-01-01

Mangroves are ecologically and economically important forests of the tropics. They are highly productive ecosystems with rates of primary production equal to those of tropical humid evergreen forests and coral reefs. Although mangroves occupy only 0.5% of the global coastal area, they contribute 10-15% (24 Tg C y-1) to coastal sediment carbon storage and export 10-11% of the particulate terrestrial carbon to the ocean. Their disproportionate contribution to carbon sequestration is now perceived as a means for conservation and restoration and a way to help ameliorate greenhouse gas emissions. Of immediate concern are potential carbon losses to deforestation (90-970 Tg C y-1) that are greater than these ecosystems' rates of carbon storage. Large reservoirs of dissolved inorganic carbon in deep soils, pumped via subsurface pathways to adjacent waterways, are a large loss of carbon, at a potential rate up to 40% of annual primary production. Patterns of carbon allocation and rates of carbon flux in mangrove forests are nearly identical to those of other tropical forests.

Carbon cycling and storage in mangrove forests.

PubMed

Alongi, Daniel M

2014-01-01

Mangroves are ecologically and economically important forests of the tropics. They are highly productive ecosystems with rates of primary production equal to those of tropical humid evergreen forests and coral reefs. Although mangroves occupy only 0.5% of the global coastal area, they contribute 10-15% (24 Tg C y(-1)) to coastal sediment carbon storage and export 10-11% of the particulate terrestrial carbon to the ocean. Their disproportionate contribution to carbon sequestration is now perceived as a means for conservation and restoration and a way to help ameliorate greenhouse gas emissions. Of immediate concern are potential carbon losses to deforestation (90-970 Tg C y(-1)) that are greater than these ecosystems' rates of carbon storage. Large reservoirs of dissolved inorganic carbon in deep soils, pumped via subsurface pathways to adjacent waterways, are a large loss of carbon, at a potential rate up to 40% of annual primary production. Patterns of carbon allocation and rates of carbon flux in mangrove forests are nearly identical to those of other tropical forests.

"We want a living solution": views of harm reduction programs in black US Communities.

PubMed

Eversman, Michael H

2015-01-01

Illicit drug use in the US remains concerning, with injection drug use linked to transmission of blood-borne diseases as HIV/AIDS; persons of color, including Black Americans, experience disproportionately higher transmission rates. Harm reduction programs such as methadone and needle- and syringe-exchange (NEP/SEP) are empirically demonstrated to reduce HIV transmission, yet are believed largely opposed by Black communities. Using interview data from 21 service providers of substance abuse and related service organizations located in and/or serving predominantly populations of color, this study explored perceptions of harm reduction programming for illicit drugs and race in the US. Criticizing each program for unique reasons, respondents deemed them largely inadequate and inappropriate responses to community drug problems. While some believed these programs worsen Black communities, others believed they are becoming more accepted there. Views were informed by racial dynamics surrounding drugs in society, burdens borne by program host communities, and racialized stereotypes of drug use.

Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking.

PubMed

Gorman, Thomas E; Green, C Shawn

2016-04-18

Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. 'media multitasking') is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today's society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population.

The Silence of Our Science: Nursing Research on LGBT Older Adult Health.

PubMed

Cloyes, Kristin G

2016-01-01

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults have been largely invisible within health and aging services research, despite being disproportionately burdened by poor health and aging outcomes. The current study examines the prevalence of LGBT aging and older adult health-related studies in the 2010-2014 nursing literature, and how this topic is being addressed. Systematic CINAHL and PubMed searches were conducted and compared to (a) quantify the prevalence of LGBT older adult-related scholarship in nursing research; (b) document the appearance of relevant publications in top nursing journals; (c) identify the focus of articles with a substantive focus on LGBT older adult health or aging; and (d) compare the prevalence of LGBT older adult-related literature in nursing, gerontology, medicine, and social work. Findings indicate that research explicitly including LGBT older adults is lacking across the health sciences, particularly in nursing (where it has been largely absent). Implications for nursing research, practice, and education are discussed. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Can we estimate molluscan abundance and biomass on the continental shelf?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, Eric N.; Mann, Roger; Ashton-Alcox, Kathryn A.; Kuykendall, Kelsey M.; Chase Long, M.

2017-11-01

Few empirical studies have focused on the effect of sample density on the estimate of abundance of the dominant carbonate-producing fauna of the continental shelf. Here, we present such a study and consider the implications of suboptimal sampling design on estimates of abundance and size-frequency distribution. We focus on a principal carbonate producer of the U.S. Atlantic continental shelf, the Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima. To evaluate the degree to which the results are typical, we analyze a dataset for the principal carbonate producer of Mid-Atlantic estuaries, the Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, obtained from Delaware Bay. These two species occupy different habitats and display different lifestyles, yet demonstrate similar challenges to survey design and similar trends with sampling density. The median of a series of simulated survey mean abundances, the central tendency obtained over a large number of surveys of the same area, always underestimated true abundance at low sample densities. More dramatic were the trends in the probability of a biased outcome. As sample density declined, the probability of a survey availability event, defined as a survey yielding indices >125% or <75% of the true population abundance, increased and that increase was disproportionately biased towards underestimates. For these cases where a single sample accessed about 0.001-0.004% of the domain, 8-15 random samples were required to reduce the probability of a survey availability event below 40%. The problem of differential bias, in which the probabilities of a biased-high and a biased-low survey index were distinctly unequal, was resolved with fewer samples than the problem of overall bias. These trends suggest that the influence of sampling density on survey design comes with a series of incremental challenges. At woefully inadequate sampling density, the probability of a biased-low survey index will substantially exceed the probability of a biased-high index. The survey time series on the average will return an estimate of the stock that underestimates true stock abundance. If sampling intensity is increased, the frequency of biased indices balances between high and low values. Incrementing sample number from this point steadily reduces the likelihood of a biased survey; however, the number of samples necessary to drive the probability of survey availability events to a preferred level of infrequency may be daunting. Moreover, certain size classes will be disproportionately susceptible to such events and the impact on size frequency will be species specific, depending on the relative dispersion of the size classes.

A Cross-Sectional Prevalence Study of Ethnically Targeted and General Audience Outdoor Obesity-Related Advertising

PubMed Central

Yancey, Antronette K; Cole, Brian L; Brown, Rochelle; Williams, Jerome D; Hillier, Amy; Kline, Randolph S; Ashe, Marice; Grier, Sonya A; Backman, Desiree; McCarthy, William J

2009-01-01

Context: Commercial marketing is a critical but understudied element of the sociocultural environment influencing Americans' food and beverage preferences and purchases. This marketing also likely influences the utilization of goods and services related to physical activity and sedentary behavior. A growing literature documents the targeting of racial/ethnic and income groups in commercial advertisements in magazines, on billboards, and on television that may contribute to sociodemographic disparities in obesity and chronic disease risk and protective behaviors. This article examines whether African Americans, Latinos, and people living in low-income neighborhoods are disproportionately exposed to advertisements for high-calorie, low nutrient–dense foods and beverages and for sedentary entertainment and transportation and are relatively underexposed to advertising for nutritious foods and beverages and goods and services promoting physical activities. Methods: Outdoor advertising density and content were compared in zip code areas selected to offer contrasts by area income and ethnicity in four cities: Los Angeles, Austin, New York City, and Philadelphia. Findings: Large variations were observed in the amount, type, and value of advertising in the selected zip code areas. Living in an upper-income neighborhood, regardless of its residents' predominant ethnicity, is generally protective against exposure to most types of obesity-promoting outdoor advertising (food, fast food, sugary beverages, sedentary entertainment, and transportation). The density of advertising varied by zip code area race/ethnicity, with African American zip code areas having the highest advertising densities, Latino zip code areas having slightly lower densities, and white zip code areas having the lowest densities. Conclusions: The potential health and economic implications of differential exposure to obesity-related advertising are substantial. Although substantive legal questions remain about the government's ability to regulate advertising, the success of limiting tobacco advertising offers lessons for reducing the marketing contribution to the obesigenicity of urban environments. PMID:19298419

Genome-wide association study of dental caries in the Hispanic Communities Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

PubMed

Morrison, Jean; Laurie, Cathy C; Marazita, Mary L; Sanders, Anne E; Offenbacher, Steven; Salazar, Christian R; Conomos, Matthew P; Thornton, Timothy; Jain, Deepti; Laurie, Cecelia A; Kerr, Kathleen F; Papanicolaou, George; Taylor, Kent; Kaste, Linda M; Beck, James D; Shaffer, John R

2016-02-15

Dental caries is the most common chronic disease worldwide, and exhibits profound disparities in the USA with racial and ethnic minorities experiencing disproportionate disease burden. Though heritable, the specific genes influencing risk of dental caries remain largely unknown. Therefore, we performed genome-wide association scans (GWASs) for dental caries in a population-based cohort of 12 000 Hispanic/Latino participants aged 18-74 years from the HCHS/SOL. Intra-oral examinations were used to generate two common indices of dental caries experience which were tested for association with 27.7 M genotyped or imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms separately in the six ancestry groups. A mixed-models approach was used, which adjusted for age, sex, recruitment site, five principal components of ancestry and additional features of the sampling design. Meta-analyses were used to combine GWAS results across ancestry groups. Heritability estimates ranged from 20-53% in the six ancestry groups. The most significant association observed via meta-analysis for both phenotypes was in the region of the NAMPT gene (rs190395159; P-value = 6 × 10(-10)), which is involved in many biological processes including periodontal healing. Another significant association was observed for rs72626594 (P-value = 3 × 10(-8)) downstream of BMP7, a tooth development gene. Other associations were observed in genes lacking known or plausible roles in dental caries. In conclusion, this was the largest GWAS of dental caries, to date and was the first to target Hispanic/Latino populations. Understanding the factors influencing dental caries susceptibility may lead to improvements in prediction, prevention and disease management, which may ultimately reduce the disparities in oral health across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic strata. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Formation and burial of pyrite and organic sulfur in mud sediments of the East China Sea inner shelf: Constraints from solid-phase sulfur speciation and stable sulfur isotope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Mao-Xu; Shi, Xiao-Ning; Yang, Gui-Peng; Hao, Xiao-Chen

2013-02-01

Solid-phase sulfur speciation and stable sulfur isotopic compositions are used to elucidate the formation and burial of pyrite-sulfur (Spy) and organic sulfur (OS) at three selected sites in mud sediments of the East China Sea (ECS) inner shelf, and to infer potential factors influencing the preservation of Spy and OS in the sediments. Our results in combination with previous studies show that the overall reactivity of sedimentary organic matter (OM) is low, while OM at the site impacted by frequent algal-bloom events displays somewhat enhanced reactivity. We observed characteristically low contents of acid volatile sulfide (AVS) and Spy in the sediments, which can be attributed to low sulfate reduction rate due to high redox potential together with limited availability of labile OM. Several geochemical features, for example, persistent occurrence of S0, good coupling among the profiles of AVS, S0 and Spy, and large 34Spy depletion, all suggest that the polysulfide pathway and disproportionation are likely involved in the pyrite formation. Organic sulfur amounts in the sediments are at the lower end of OS contents reported in many other marine sediments around the world. The sources of OS are both biosynthetic and diagenetic, with the biosynthetic OS being the major share (59-73%). In one site studied (C702), enhanced accumulation of OS within the upper layers (14 cm) is believed to be associated with frequent algal-bloom events. Net burial fluxes of Spy and OS in the three sites studied range from 0.27 to 0.82 mmol/m2/d and from 0.22 to 0.74 mmol/m2/d, respectively. Sedimentation rate and algal-bloom events are two important factors influencing the spatial variability of Spy and OS burial fluxes in the whole shelf.

Instantaneous formation of SiOx nanocomposite for high capacity lithium ion batteries by enhanced disproportionation reaction during plasma spray physical vapor deposition.

PubMed

Tashiro, Tohru; Dougakiuchi, Masashi; Kambara, Makoto

2016-01-01

Nanocomposite SiO x particles have been produced by a single step plasma spray physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) through rapid condensation of SiO vapors and the subsequent disproportionation reaction. Core-shell nanoparticles, in which 15 nm crystalline Si is embedded within the amorphous SiO x matrix, form under typical PS-PVD conditions, while 10 nm amorphous particles are formed when processed with an increased degree of non-equilibrium effect. Addition of CH 4 promotes reduction in the oxygen content x of SiO x , and thereby increases the Si volume in a nanocomposite particle. As a result, core-shell nanoparticles with x  = 0.46 as anode exhibit increased initial efficiency and the capacity of lithium ion batteries while maintaining cyclability. Furthermore, it is revealed that the disproportionation reaction of SiO is promoted in nanosized particles attaining increased Si diffusivity by two orders of magnitude compared to that in bulk, which facilitates instantaneous composite nanoparticle formation during PS-PVD.

Hydrogenation properties of KSi and NaSi Zintl phases.

PubMed

Tang, Wan Si; Chotard, Jean-Noël; Raybaud, Pascal; Janot, Raphaël

2012-10-14

The recently reported KSi-KSiH(3) system can store 4.3 wt% of hydrogen reversibly with slow kinetics of several hours for complete absorption at 373 K and complete desorption at 473 K. From the kinetics measured at different temperatures, the Arrhenius plots give activation energies (E(a)) of 56.0 ± 5.7 kJ mol(-1) and 121 ± 17 kJ mol(-1) for the absorption and desorption processes, respectively. Ball-milling with 10 wt% of carbon strongly improves the kinetics of the system, i.e. specifically the initial rate of absorption becomes about one order of magnitude faster than that of pristine KSi. However, this fast absorption causes a disproportionation into KH and K(8)Si(46), instead of forming the KSiH(3) hydride from a slow absorption. This disproportionation, due to the formation of stable KH, leads to a total loss of reversibility. In a similar situation, when the pristine Zintl NaSi phase absorbs hydrogen, it likewise disproportionates into NaH and Na(8)Si(46), indicating a very poorly reversible reaction.