Project description:The built environment microbiota initially resembles the outdoors before human associated interventions drive development toward functionally specific communities
Project description:62 individual Brassica napus plants of the same accession grown in the same field were expression-profiled in autumn 2016 and phenotyped extensively until harvest in spring 2017. Machine learning models were used to link gene expression to the phenotypes of individual plants, with the purpose of assessing how much phenotype information in encoded in ‘noisy’ gene expression variation among individual plants of the same background grown under the same uncontrolled field conditions. Rosette leaf 8 blades of 62 individual Brassica napus plants of the same winter-type accession (BnASSYST-120, Darmor) grown in the same field (50°58'24.9\\"N 3°46'49.1\\"E, Merelbeke, Belgium) were RNA-seq profiled. No treatments or stresses were applied, all plants were profiled individually under uncontrolled field conditions. Sown at 2016-09-08, rosette leaf 8 sampled for RNA-seq at 2016-11-28, plants harvested at 2017-06-13.
Project description:In this study, we designed a space simulation study, named “4 Subjects 180-Day Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Integration Experiment”, which took place in Shenzhen, China, from June to December 2016. In this experiment, four subjects (3 males and 1 female) lived for 180 days in an enclosed simulated cabin, and multiple-sampling-point DNA methylation data was collected to conduct the epigenic analysis. Peripheral whole blood cells were extracted from all 4 subjects on the 12 sampling points (Pre45, Pre15, R2, R30, R60, R75, R90, R105, R120, R150, R175 and Post30 mission day during the experiment).
Project description:The human immune response to inactivated influenza vaccine is dynamic and impacted by age and preexisting immunity. Our goal was to identify postvaccination transcriptomic changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from children. Blood samples were obtained before and at 3 or 7 days postvaccination with 2016-2017 quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine and RNA sequencing was performed. There were 1,466 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for the Day 0-Day 3 group and 513 DEGs for the Day 0-Day 7 group. Thirty-three genes were common between the two groups. The majority of the transcriptomic changes at Day 3 represented innate inflammation and apoptosis pathways. Day 7 DEGs were characterized by activation of cellular processes, including the regulation of cytoskeleton, junctions, and metabolism, and increased expression of immunoglobulin genes. DEGs at Day 3 were compared between older and younger children revealing increased inflammatory gene expression in the older group. Vaccine history in the year prior to the study was characterized by robust DEGs at Day 3 with decreased phagosome and dendritic cell maturation in those who had been vaccinated in the previous year. PBMC responses to inactivated influenza vaccination in children differed significantly by the timing of sampling, patient age, and vaccine history. These data provide insight into the expected molecular pathways to be temporally altered by influenza vaccination in children.
Project description:The genome-wide target genes of transcription factors MYC2 and MYC3 were determined in etiolated (dark-grown) seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana. Chromatin immunoprecipition of MYC2 and MYC3 was performed as described in O’Malley et al (2016; doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.04.038), using transgenic A. thaliana expressing MYC2::YpET and MYC3::YpET fusion proteins from their native promoters, generated by recombineering (Gimenez-Ibanez et al. 2017; doi: 10.1111/nph.14354 ). Three-day old etiolated seedlings were treated with methyl JA for 2 h (as described in Schweizer et al., 2013), then harvested for ChIP-Seq.
Project description:ContextAs obesity has become increasingly widespread, scientists seek better ways to assess and modify built and social environments to positively impact health. The applicable methods and concepts draw on multiple disciplines and require collaboration and cross-learning. This paper describes the results of an expert team׳s analysis of how key disciplinary perspectives contribute to environmental context-based assessment related to obesity, identifies gaps, and suggests opportunities to encourage effective advances in this arena.Evidence acquisitionA team of experts representing diverse disciplines convened in 2013 to discuss the contributions of their respective disciplines to assessing built environments relevant to obesity prevention. The disciplines include urban planning, public health nutrition, exercise science, physical activity research, public health and epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and economics. Each expert identified key concepts and measures from their discipline, and applications to built environment assessment and action. A selective review of published literature and internet-based information was conducted in 2013 and 2014.Evidence synthesisThe key points that are highlighted in this article were identified in 2014-2015 through discussion, debate and consensus-building among the team of experts. Results focus on the various disciplines׳ perspectives and tools, recommendations, progress and gaps.ConclusionsThere has been significant progress in collaboration across key disciplines that contribute to studies of built environments and obesity, but important gaps remain. Using lessons from interprofessional education and team science, along with appreciation of and attention to other disciplines׳ contributions, can promote more effective cross-disciplinary collaboration in obesity prevention.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Perception of undesirable features may inhibit built environment use for physical activity among underserved families with children at risk for obesity. METHODS:To examine the association of perceived availability, condition, and safety of the built environment with its self-reported use for physical activity, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis on baseline data from a randomized controlled trial. Adjusted Poisson regression was used to test the association between the primary independent variables (perceived availability, physical condition, and safety) with the primary outcome of self-reported use of built environment structures. RESULTS:Among 610 parents (90% Latino) of preschool-age children, 158 (26%) reported that there were no available built environment structures for physical activity in the neighborhood. The use of built environment structures was associated with the perceived number of available structures (B?=?0.34, 95% CI 0.31, 0.37, p?<?0.001) and their perceived condition (B?=?0.19, 95% CI 0.12, 0.27, p?=?0.001), but not with perceived safety (B?=?0.00, 95% CI -0.01, 0.01, p?=?0.7). CONCLUSIONS:In this sample of underserved families, perceived availability and condition of built environment structures were associated with use rather than perceived safety. To encourage physical activity among underserved families, communities need to invest in the condition and availability of built environment structures. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01316653 ) on March 11, 2011.
Project description:Neighborhood factors are increasingly examined for their role in the childhood obesity epidemic. Whereas studies on the impacts of neighborhood factors on adult obesity are relatively common, studies examining these same factors on childhood obesity are far fewer.Using the Ecological Systems Theory (EST) as a model, we sought to examine the strength of the literature with respect to neighborhood factors as outlined in EST. This includes factors related to the family and the school, which are embedded in larger social contexts of the community and society. These factors are often referred to in the literature as the 'built environment' which encompasses the entire range of structural elements in a residential setting including, for example, housing mix, transportation networks, public resources, and presence of sidewalks or trails.Whereas progress has been made with respect to the body of evidence supporting the role of neighborhood factors on childhood obesity and obesity-related behaviors, much work remains to be done to enhance our understanding of neighborhood level factors. As the body of evidence grows, these studies will inform multilevel interventions which are urgently needed to tackle the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in the US.
Project description:Collective efficacy is a prominent explanation for neighborhood crime concentrations. Just as crime is concentrated in particular neighborhoods, within-neighborhoods crime is concentrated in particular criminogenic locations. Research suggests criminogenic locations are determined by features of the built environment. This study links collective efficacy with situational opportunity to propose that collective efficacy facilitates the removal of criminogenic features of the built environment. I test this by examining associations 1) between past collective efficacy and present criminogenic features of the built environment, as well as 2) between those built environment features and crime, net of present collective efficacy. These are modeled using piecewise structural equations with generalized linear mixed-effect regressions on data from 1,641 blocks in 343 Chicago neighborhoods. Four types of police-reported crime are modeled using eight block-level built environment features in the 2003 Chicago Community Area Health Study (CCAHS; N = 3,074) and neighborhood collective efficacy from the CCAHS and the 1995 Project in Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Community Survey (N = 7,672). Findings suggest neighborhoods with high collective efficacy maintain low rates of crime in part by limiting criminogenic built environment features, in particular, abandoned buildings. This crime control pathway is important because changes to the built environment are long lasting and reduce the need for future interventions against crime.