• Wildfire-Driven Forest Conversion in Western North American Landscapes

  Coop, Jonathan D; Parks, Sean A; Stevens-Rumann, Camille S; Crausbay, Shelley D; Higuera, Philip E; Hurteau, Matthew D; Tepley, Alan; Whitman, Ellen; Assal, Timothy; Collins, Brandon M; et al. (OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2020-07-01)

  Changing disturbance regimes and climate can overcome forest ecosystem resilience. Following high-severity fire, forest recovery may be compromised by lack of tree seed sources, warmer and drier postfire climate, or short-interval reburning. A potential outcome of the loss of resilience is the conversion of the prefire forest to a different forest type or nonforest vegetation. Conversion implies major, extensive, and enduring changes in dominant species, life forms, or functions, with impacts on ecosystem services. In the present article, we synthesize a growing body of evidence of fire-driven conversion and our understanding of its causes across western North America. We assess our capacity to predict conversion and highlight important uncertainties. Increasing forest vulnerability to changing fire activity and climate compels shifts in management approaches, and we propose key themes for applied research coproduced by scientists and managers to support decision-making in an era when the prefire forest may not return.
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  Engaging students with team‐based learning in courses taught at two campuses synchronously: Two case studies in health sciences

  Bender, Holly S.; Garrett, Kennon M.; Hostetter, Shannon Jones; College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona (Wiley, 2021-06-16)

  This chapter describes two case studies that highlight how courses can be taught simultaneously in classrooms across partnering university campuses using the effective, evidence-based team-based learning (TBL) method. The objective is to assist faculty in effectively using TBL in a synchronous virtual collaborative space.
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  Can deep learning extract useful information about energy dissipation and effective hydraulic conductivity from gridded conductivity fields?

  Moghaddam, M.A.; Ferre, P.A.T.; Ehsani, M.R.; Klakovich, J.; Gupta, H.V.; Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2021)

  We confirm that energy dissipation weighting provides the most accurate approach to determining the effective hydraulic conductivity (Keff ) of a binary K grid. A deep learning algorithm (UNET) can infer Keff with extremely high accuracy (R2 > 0.99). The UNET architecture could be trained to infer the energy dissipation weighting pattern from an image of the K distribution, although it was less accurate for cases with highly localized structures that controlled flow. Furthermore, the UNET architecture learned to infer the energy dissipation weighting even if it was not trained directly on this information. However, the weights were represented within the UNET in a way that was not immediately interpretable by a human user. This reiterates the idea that even if ML/DL algorithms are trained to make some hydrologic predictions accurately, they must be designed and trained to provide each user-required output if their results are to be used to improve our understanding of hydrologic systems. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  The liver X receptor agonist LXR 623 restricts flavivirus replication

  Mlera, L.; Offerdahl, D.K.; Dorward, D.W.; Carmody, A.; Chiramel, A.I.; Best, S.M.; Bloom, M.E.; BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona (Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2021)

  The vector-borne flaviviruses (VBFVs) are well known for causing great misery and death in humans worldwide. The VBFVs include those transmitted by mosquitos, such as Zika virus (ZIKV), dengue virus; and those transmitted by ticks including the tick-borne flavivirus serocomplex and Powassan virus (POWV). Two of our recent reports showed that intracranial POWV infection in the reservoir host, Peromyscus leucopus, was restricted and caused no overt clinical disease. Several modes of analyses suggested activation of the LXR pathway. Activation of the LXR pathway leads to increased efflux of cholesterol from cells and consequent disturbances in membrane biogenesis. Because VBFV replication is dependent on membrane biogenesis, we evaluated the effect of an LXR agonist (LXR623) on POWV and ZIKV infection and observed that the compound impaired permissive replication of both viruses in a human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cell line. The LXR agonist resulted in failure of the viruses to induce ER expansion and elaborate vesicle formation, suggesting that the efflux of cholesterol was part of the antiviral mechanism. We also observed that the LXR agonist contributed to the mechanism of virus suppression by increased expression of mRNAs encoding for the antiviral cytokines CXCL10, RANTES and IFN1β. In sharp contrast, a LXR antagonist (GSK2033) had no significant effect on VBFV replication. We conclude that LXR623 impairs flavivirus replication by stimulating cellular antiviral factors. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, on behalf of Shanghai Shangyixun Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.
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  Potential of small culverts as wildlife passages on forest roads

  Chen, H.-L.; Posthumus, E.E.; Koprowski, J.L.; School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2021)

  Roads and traffic can cause animal mortality. Specifically, roads serve as barriers by im-peding animal movement, resulting in demographic and genetic consequences. Drainage structures, such as culverts, can provide linkages between habitat patches. However, the potential of small culverts with diameters of <60 cm (e.g., wildlife passages that facilitate movement on forest roads) are relatively unknown. In this study, we used trail cameras to monitor the use of 14 small culverts, by mammals, along forest roads on Mt. Graham, home of the critically endangered Mt. Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis), in southeastern Arizona, USA. From 2011 to 2013, we only recorded 20 completed road crossings through culverts. More than half of culvert uses were by striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), followed by the rock squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus). The Mt. Graham red squirrel was the only species that was common along the roads, but never crossed the roads. Culverts with higher usages were characterized by shorter culvert lengths and absence of accumulated soil inside the culverts. Our study shows that small-dimension drainage systems may provide alternative pathways for wildlife crossing roads, especially for slow moving and ground dwelling species. However, the potential of small culverts assisting wildlife crossings can only be maximized when culverts are accessible year-round. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  Metabolomic and lipidomic changes triggered by lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation in transgenic APdE9 mice

  Puris, E.; Kouřil, Š.; Najdekr, L.; Loppi, S.; Korhonen, P.; Kanninen, K.M.; Malm, T.; Koistinaho, J.; Friedecký, D.; Gynther, M.; et al. (NLM (Medline), 2021)

  Peripheral infections followed by systemic inflammation may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer`s disease (AD) and accelerate the disease progression later in life. Yet, the impact of systemic inflammation on the plasma and brain tissue metabolome and lipidome in AD has not been investigated. In this study, targeted metabolomic and untargeted lipidomic profiling experiments were performed on the plasma, cortices, and hippocampi of wild-type (WT) mice and transgenic APdE9 mice after chronic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment, as well as saline-treated APdE9 mice. The lipidome and the metabolome of these mice were compared to saline-treated WT animals. In the brain tissue of all three models, the lipidome was more influenced than the metabolome. The LPS-treated APdE9 mice had the highest number of changes in brain metabolic pathways with significant alterations in levels of lysine, myo-inositol, spermine, phosphocreatine, acylcarnitines and diacylglycerols, which were not observed in the saline-treated APdE9 mice. In the WT mice, the effect of the LPS administration on metabolome and lipidome was negligible. The study provided exciting information about the biochemical perturbations due to LPS-induced inflammation in the transgenic AD model, which can significantly enhance our understanding of the role of systemic inflammation in AD pathogenesis.
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  Two separate, large cohorts reveal potential modifiers of age-associated variation in visual reaction time performance

  Talboom, J.S.; De Both, M.D.; Naymik, M.A.; Schmidt, A.M.; Lewis, C.R.; Jepsen, W.M.; Håberg, A.K.; Rundek, T.; Levin, B.E.; Hoscheidt, S.; et al. (Nature Research, 2021)

  To identify potential factors influencing age-related cognitive decline and disease, we created MindCrowd. MindCrowd is a cross-sectional web-based assessment of simple visual (sv) reaction time (RT) and paired-associate learning (PAL). svRT and PAL results were combined with 22 survey questions. Analysis of svRT revealed education and stroke as potential modifiers of changes in processing speed and memory from younger to older ages (ntotal = 75,666, nwomen = 47,700, nmen = 27,966; ages 18–85 years old, mean (M)Age = 46.54, standard deviation (SD)Age = 18.40). To complement this work, we evaluated complex visual recognition reaction time (cvrRT) in the UK Biobank (ntotal = 158,249 nwomen = 89,333 nmen = 68,916; ages 40–70 years old, MAge = 55.81, SDAge = 7.72). Similarities between the UK Biobank and MindCrowd were assessed using a subset of MindCrowd (UKBb MindCrowd) selected to mirror the UK Biobank demographics (ntotal = 39,795, nwomen = 29,640, nmen = 10,155; ages 40–70 years old, MAge = 56.59, SDAge = 8.16). An identical linear model (LM) was used to assess both cohorts. Analyses revealed similarities between MindCrowd and the UK Biobank across most results. Divergent findings from the UK Biobank included (1) a first-degree family history of Alzheimer’s disease (FHAD) was associated with longer cvrRT. (2) Men with the least education were associated with longer cvrRTs comparable to women across all educational attainment levels. Divergent findings from UKBb MindCrowd included more education being associated with shorter svRTs and a history of smoking with longer svRTs from younger to older ages. © 2021, The Author(s).
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  Veillonellaceae family members uniquely alter the cervical metabolic microenvironment in a human three-dimensional epithelial model

  Salliss, M.E.; Maarsingh, J.D.; Garza, C.; Łaniewski, P.; Herbst-Kralovetz, M.M.; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine-Phoenix, University of Arizona; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine-Phoenix, University of Arizona; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine-Phoenix, University of Arizona (Nature Research, 2021)

  Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a gynecologic disorder characterized by a shift in cervicovaginal microbiota from Lactobacillus spp. dominance to a polymicrobial biofilm composed of diverse anaerobes. We utilized a well-characterized human three-dimensional cervical epithelial cell model in conjunction with untargeted metabolomics and immunoproteomics analyses to determine the immunometabolic contribution of three members of the Veillonellaceae family: Veillonella atypica, Veillonella montpellierensis and Megasphaera micronuciformis at this site. We found that Veillonella spp. infections induced significant elevation of polyamines. M. micronuciformis infections significantly increased soluble inflammatory mediators, induced moderate levels of cell cytotoxicity, and accumulation of cell membrane lipids relative to Veillonella spp. Notably, both V. atypica and V. montpellierensis infections resulted in consumption of lactate, a key metabolite linked to gynecologic and reproductive health. Collectively our approach and data provide unique insights into the specific contributions of Veillonellaceae members to the pathogenesis of BV and women’s health. © 2021, The Author(s).
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  Hypertension prevalence in the All of Us Research Program among groups traditionally underrepresented in medical research

  All of Us Research Program Investigators; University of Arizona (Nature Research, 2021)

  The All of Us Research Program was designed to enable broad-based precision medicine research in a cohort of unprecedented scale and diversity. Hypertension (HTN) is a major public health concern. The validity of HTN data and definition of hypertension cases in the All of Us (AoU) Research Program for use in rule-based algorithms is unknown. In this cross-sectional, population-based study, we compare HTN prevalence in the AoU Research Program to HTN prevalence in the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We used AoU baseline data from patient (age ≥ 18) measurements (PM), surveys, and electronic health record (EHR) blood pressure measurements. We retrospectively examined the prevalence of HTN in the EHR cohort using Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) codes and blood pressure medications recorded in the EHR. We defined HTN as the participant having at least 2 HTN diagnosis/billing codes on separate dates in the EHR data AND at least one HTN medication. We calculated an age-standardized HTN prevalence according to the age distribution of the U.S. Census, using 3 groups (18–39, 40–59, and ≥ 60). Among the 185,770 participants enrolled in the AoU Cohort (mean age at enrollment = 51.2 years) available in a Researcher Workbench as of October 2019, EHR data was available for at least one SNOMED code from 112,805 participants, medications for 104,230 participants, and 103,490 participants had both medication and SNOMED data. The total number of persons with SNOMED codes on at least two distinct dates and at least one antihypertensive medication was 33,310 for a crude prevalence of HTN of 32.2%. AoU age-adjusted HTN prevalence was 27.9% using 3 groups compared to 29.6% in NHANES. The AoU cohort is a growing source of diverse longitudinal data to study hypertension nationwide and develop precision rule-based algorithms for use in hypertension treatment and prevention research. The prevalence of hypertension in this cohort is similar to that in prior population-based surveys. © 2021, The Author(s).
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  Four chromosome scale genomes and a pan-genome annotation to accelerate pecan tree breeding

  Lovell, J.T.; Bentley, N.B.; Bhattarai, G.; Jenkins, J.W.; Sreedasyam, A.; Alarcon, Y.; Bock, C.; Boston, L.B.; Carlson, J.; Cervantes, K.; et al. (Nature Research, 2021)

  Genome-enabled biotechnologies have the potential to accelerate breeding efforts in long-lived perennial crop species. Despite the transformative potential of molecular tools in pecan and other outcrossing tree species, highly heterozygous genomes, significant presence–absence gene content variation, and histories of interspecific hybridization have constrained breeding efforts. To overcome these challenges, here, we present diploid genome assemblies and annotations of four outbred pecan genotypes, including a PacBio HiFi chromosome-scale assembly of both haplotypes of the ‘Pawnee’ cultivar. Comparative analysis and pan-genome integration reveal substantial and likely adaptive interspecific genomic introgressions, including an over-retained haplotype introgressed from bitternut hickory into pecan breeding pedigrees. Further, by leveraging our pan-genome presence–absence and functional annotation database among genomes and within the two outbred haplotypes of the ‘Lakota’ genome, we identify candidate genes for pest and pathogen resistance. Combined, these analyses and resources highlight significant progress towards functional and quantitative genomics in highly diverse and outbred crops. © 2021, The Author(s).
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  Draft genome sequences of multiple streptomyces isolates from Arizona

  Baltrus, D.A.; White, A.; Smith, C.; Clark, M.; School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona; School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona (American Society for Microbiology, 2021)

  Streptomyces strains are bacteria that are well known for their distinctive physiology, behaviors, and ecology, as well as for being prodigious producers of diverse antibiotics. Here, we report draft genome sequences for eight Streptomyces strains that were isolated from multiple sky islands in Arizona and sequenced using an Oxford Nanopore Technologies Flongle adapter and MinION system. Copyright © 2021 Baltrus et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
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  Cost Utility of cognition-enhancing interventions for individuals with first-episode psychosis: a naturalistic evaluation

  Breitborde, N.J.K.; Bell, E.K.; Woolverton, C.; Pine, J.G.; Waslter, H.; Moe, A.M.; Department of Psychology, University of Arizona (BioMed Central Ltd, 2021)

  Background: Although effective treatments are available to address the cognitive deficits experienced by individuals with first-episode psychosis, provision of such treatments within Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) programs is rare. One factor that may contribute to this is uncertainty about the cost implications of providing cognitive-enhancing treatments within the American mental healthcare system. The aim of this study is to complete a naturalistic evaluation of the cost utility of incorporating two different cognitive-enhancing interventions within an American CSC program. Methods: Participants included 66, predominately white (75.38%), individuals with first-episode psychosis (19 women and 47 men) with a mean age of 22.71 years. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost of care were tracked among these individuals during their participation in a CSC program. These data were compared among three groups of participants during their first six months of care: (i) individuals who participated in metacognitive remediation therapy (MCR), (ii) individuals who participated in computerized cognitive remediation (CCR), and (iii) individuals who participated in no cognitive-enhancing intervention. Results: Participation in MCR, but not CCR, was associated with larger gains in QALYs than participation in no cognitive-enhancing intervention within a CSC program. Moreover, data support the cost utility of MCR as compared to CCR or no-cognitive enhancing intervention within a CSC program. Conversely, CCR did not appear to be a cost-effective addition to CSC services. Conclusions: Our results highlight the potential cost utility of incorporating MCR within CSC programs for individuals with first-episode psychosis. However, given study limitations, these results should be interpreted cautiously until replicated by large, randomized controlled trials. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01570972, registered April 4, 2012, Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01570972?term=breitborde&draw=2&rank=6. © 2021, The Author(s).
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  Mandible morphology as a tool to investigate origin, adaptation and stress in invasive alien species: first insights into Callosciurus erythraeus (Rodentia: Sciuridae) in Europe

  Mazzamuto, M.V.; Su, H.-J.; Guidarelli, G.; Preatoni, D.; Russo, L.F.; Loy, A.; Martinoli, A.; School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona (Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2021)

  When an alien species is introduced in a new area, the new population may be genetically and phenotypically different from the parent population because of the population bottleneck, increased inbreeding rate and adaptation to the new environment. In this study we investigated the variation in shape and size of the mandible among and within three populations of the invasive Pallas’s squirrel introduced in Italy, Belgium and France. Significant differences in both size and shape of the mandible were found among all population pairs, with France being the most distinct. French squirrels showed a larger and slenderer mandible with a broad angular process, a restricted condyle, and a backward-oriented coronoid process. The Italian and the Belgian population also differed significantly but to a lesser extent, the Italian squirrels having a lower coronoid process, a broader angular apophysis, and a restricted condyle. Size explained 15% of the total shape variation, but the slope of allometric trajectories did not reveal any significant difference among populations. A significantly high fluctuating and directional asymmetries were found respectively in the French and the Italian squirrels. Results are discussed in terms of different selective pressures in the invaded areas and possible effects of developmental instability. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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  Changes in soil microbial communities across an urbanization gradient: A local-scale temporal study in the arid southwestern usa

  Chen, Y.; Martinez, A.; Cleavenger, S.; Rudolph, J.; Barberán, A.; Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, (MDPI AG, 2021)

  Urban development is one of the leading causes of biodiversity change. Understanding how soil microorganisms respond to urbanization is particularly important because they are crucial for the provisioning of ecosystem functions and services. Here, we collected monthly soil samples over one year across three locations representing an urbanization gradient (low-moderate-high) in the arid Southwestern USA, and we characterized their microbial communities using marker gene sequencing. Our results showed that microbial richness and community composition exhibited non-significant changes over time regardless of the location. Soil fungal richness was lower in moderately and highly urbanized locations, but soil bacterial/archaeal richness was not significantly different among locations. Both bacteria/archaea and fungi exhibited significant differences in community composition across locations. After inferring potential functional groups, soils in the highly urbanized location had lower proportions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil saprotrophic fungi but had higher proportions of bacterial taxa involved in aromatic compound degradation, human pathogens, and intracellular parasites. Furthermore, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were more abundant in the highly urbanized location, but ammonia-oxidizing archaea were more abundant in lowly and moderately urbanized locations. Together, these results highlight the significant changes in belowground microbial communities across an urbanization gradient, and these changes might have important implications for aboveground–belowground interactions, nutrient cycling, and human health. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  Sounds over symbols? The role of auditory cues in orthographically-correlated speech behavior

  Grippando, S.; Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2019)

  A recent series of studies found a correlation between orthographic length and speech duration: The more orthographic units in a written form, the longer the speech duration of that word, all else being equal. Modular and encapsulated speech production models argue that orthography should not contribute to articulation when it is not directly and explicitly relevant to speech. Such models demand that other factors such as auditory cues must be contributing to the development of this behavior. If auditory cues are being used in the development of these speech patterns, individuals would be expected to be sensitive to these differences. The current study uses an ABX task to determine whether participants are sensitive to durational differences at lengths similar to those observed in the previously found orthographically-correlated speech behavior. The current results showed no sensitivity to the critical levels of speech duration. Participants only began to show sensitivity at four times the length of the lower-bound durational lengths previously observed in individual’s speech patterns. These results call into question whether audio cues are playing a significant role in the development of this speech behavior and strengthen the claim that orthography may be influencing speech in an interactive fashion. © 2019 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  Foreign-language phonetic development leads to first-language phonetic drift: Plosive consonants in native portuguese speakers learning english as a foreign language in Brazil

  Osborne, D.M.; Simonet, M.; University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2021)

  Fifty-six Portuguese speakers born and raised in Brazil produced Portuguese words beginning in one of four plosives, /p b k g/. Twenty-eight of them were monolinguals (controls), and the rest were learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The learners were also asked to produce English words beginning with one of four plosives, /p b k g/. We measured the plosives’ voice onset times (VOT) to address the following research questions: Do foreign-language learners, whose exposure to native English oral input is necessarily limited, form new sound categories specific to their additional language? Does engaging in the learning of a foreign language affect the phonetics of one’s native language? The EFL learners were found to differ from the controls in their production of Portuguese voiced (but not voiceless) plosives—prevoicing was longer in learner speech. The learners displayed different VOT targets for voiced (but not voiceless) consonants as a function of the language they were speaking—prevoicing was longer in Portuguese. In EFL learners’ productions, English sounds appear to be fundamentally modeled on phonologically similar native sounds, but some phonetic development (or reorganization) is found. Phonetic development induced by foreign-language learning may lead to a minor reconfiguration of the phonetics of native language sounds. EFL learners may find it challenging to learn the pronunciation patterns of English, likely due to the reduced access to native oral input. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  Hydrological modeling of green infrastructure to quantify its effect on flood mitigation and water availability in the high school watershed in Tucson, AZ

  Korgaonkar, Y.; Guertin, D.P.; Meixner, T.; Goodrich, D.C.; School of Geography, Development and Environment, University of Arizona; School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona; Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2021)

  Green Infrastructure (GI) practices are being implemented in numerous cities to tackle stormwater management issues and achieve co-benefits such as mitigating heat island effects and air pollution, as well as water augmentation, health, and economic benefits. Tucson, Arizona is a fast-growing city in the semiarid region of the southwest United States and provides a unique landscape in terms of urban hydrology and stormwater management, where stormwater is routed along the streets to the nearest ephemeral washes. Local organizations have implemented various GI practices, such as curb cuts, traffic chicanes, roof runoff harvesting, and retention basins, to capture the excess runoff and utilize it on-site. This study models the 3.31 km2 High School watershed in central Tucson using the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool and the Kinematic Runoff and Erosion (KINEROS2) model. Each parcel in the watershed was individually represented using the KINEROS2 Urban element to simulate small-scale flow-on/flow-off processes. Seven different configurations of GI implementation were simulated using design storms, and we stochastically generated 20 years of precipitation data to understand the effects of GI implementation on flood mitigation and long-term water availability, respectively. The design storm analysis indicates that the configuration designed to mimic the current level of GI implementation, which includes 175 on-street basins and 37 roof runoff harvesting cisterns, has minimum (&lt;2%) influence on runoff volume. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the current level of GI implementation caused an increase (&lt;1%) in peak flows at the watershed outlet but predicted reduced on-street accumulated volumes (&gt;25%) and increased water availability via GI capture and infiltration. When the GI implementation was increased by a factor of two and five, a larger reduction of peak flow (&lt;8% and &lt;22%, respectively) and volume (&lt;3% and &lt;8%, respectively) was simulated at the watershed outlet. The 20-year analysis showed that parcels with roof runoff harvesting cisterns were able to meet their landscape irrigation demands throughout the year, except for the dry months of May and June. Additionally, stormwater captured and infiltrated by the on-street basins could support xeric vegetation for most of the year, except June, where the water demand exceeded volume of water infiltrated in the basins. The current level of GI implementation in the High School watershed may not have significant large-scale impacts, but it provides numerous benefits at the parcel, street, and small neighborhood scales. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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  Redo percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (redo pmv) in patients with recurrent mitral valve stenosis: Immediate and early outcomes

  Ghasemi, M.; Mehrpooya, M.; Ghasemi, F.; Movahed, M.R.; Sattartabar, B.; University of Arizona (Islamic Republic of Iran Medical Council, 2019)

  Background: Symptomatic recurrent mitral valve stenosis develops in some patients after Percutaneous Mitral Valvuloplasty (PMV). This study assessed the immediate and early outcomes of redo PMV in patients with recurrent mitral valve stenosis after prior PMV. Methods: Fifty-four patients (40 women and 14 men, mean age of 38±8.2 years) underwent a redo (second) PMV for symptomatic restenosis of mitral valve [with Mitral Valve Area (MVA) < 1.5 cm2]. Redo PMV was performed at 5.8±1.2 years after the initial PMV. Results: In this study, 48 hours after the procedure, there was a substantial increase in MVA by 2-dimensional Echocardiography (GE, Vivid 7) from 1.0±0.2 to 2.2±0.4 cm2 (p<0.001) and a decrease in mean left atrial pressure from 27 ± 5 to 15 ± 4 mmHg (p<0.001) and in mean transmitral valve gradient from 15±4 to 2±1 mmHg (p <0 .001). Mean pulmonary artery pressure did not change significantly with redo procedure. Good immediate result was achieved in 53 patients (98.15%). Conclusion: Redo PMV can be performed successfully in patients with recurrent mitral valve stenosis following previous percutaneous valvuloplasty. © Journal of Iranian Medical Council 2019.
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  Alleviating Environmental Health Disparities Through Community Science and Data Integration

  Ramírez-Andreotta, M.D.; Walls, R.; Youens-Clark, K.; Blumberg, K.; Isaacs, K.E.; Kaufmann, D.; Maier, R.M.; Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona; Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health's Division of Community, Environment and Policy, University of Arizona; BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona; et al. (Frontiers Media S.A., 2021)

  Environmental contamination is a fundamental determinant of health and well-being, and when the environment is compromised, vulnerabilities are generated. The complex challenges associated with environmental health and food security are influenced by current and emerging political, social, economic, and environmental contexts. To solve these “wicked” dilemmas, disparate public health surveillance efforts are conducted by local, state, and federal agencies. More recently, citizen/community science (CS) monitoring efforts are providing site-specific data. One of the biggest challenges in using these government datasets, let alone incorporating CS data, for a holistic assessment of environmental exposure is data management and interoperability. To facilitate a more holistic perspective and approach to solution generation, we have developed a method to provide a common data model that will allow environmental health researchers working at different scales and research domains to exchange data and ask new questions. We anticipate that this method will help to address environmental health disparities, which are unjust and avoidable, while ensuring CS datasets are ethically integrated to achieve environmental justice. Specifically, we used a transdisciplinary research framework to develop a methodology to integrate CS data with existing governmental environmental monitoring and social attribute data (vulnerability and resilience variables) that span across 10 different federal and state agencies. A key challenge in integrating such different datasets is the lack of widely adopted ontologies for vulnerability and resiliency factors. In addition to following the best practice of submitting new term requests to existing ontologies to fill gaps, we have also created an application ontology, the Superfund Research Project Data Interface Ontology (SRPDIO). © Copyright © 2021 Ramírez-Andreotta, Walls, Youens-Clark, Blumberg, Isaacs, Kaufmann and Maier.
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  Assessing interactions between pnpla3 and dietary intake on liver steatosis in mexican-origin adults

  Morrill, K.E.; Bland, V.L.; Klimentidis, Y.C.; Hingle, M.D.; Thomson, C.A.; Garcia, D.O.; Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, University of Arizona; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona (MDPI AG, 2021)

  Mexican-origin (MO) adults have among the highest rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) placing them at increased risk of liver cancer. Evidence suggests that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the PNPLA3 gene, rs738409, increases the risk and progression of NAFLD and may modify the relationship between certain dietary factors and liver steatosis. The purpose of this study was to identify whether interactions exist between specific dietary factors and rs738409 genotype status among MO adults in relation to levels of liver steatosis. We analyzed cross-sectional data from a sample of 288 MO adults. Participants completed at least two 24-h dietary recalls. Multiple linear regression was performed assuming an additive genetic model to test the main effects of several dietary variables on levels of hepatic steatosis, adjusting for covariates. To test for effect modification, the product of the genotype and the dietary variable was included as a covariate in the model. No significant association between dietary intake and level of hepatic steatosis was observed, nor any significant gene-diet interactions. Our findings suggest that dietary intake may have the same magnitude of protective or deleterious effect even among MO adults with high genetic risk for NAFLD and NAFLD progression. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

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