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Correlations of Intersectional Identity Cohesion and Growth in Queer and Transgender Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
Get PDFPast research has found that identity cohesion (how integrated multiple identities are) is a protective factor that moderates the relationship between intersectional microaggressions and mental health outcomes. Individuals with higher identity conflict (multiple identities clashing) had anxiety and depression symptoms that could be predicted by the distress they experienced from intersectional microaggressions. For those with high identity cohesion, this was not the case. While compelling, the question remains, what are the factors that contribute to identity integration versus identity conflict? The present study will utilize existing data of 417 QTBIPOC individuals. Ratings of LGBTQ+ community belonging and engagement, and LGBTQ+ identity will be used to determine what factors contribute to QTBIPOC identity conflict versus identity cohesion. The results of these analyses helped determine key factors in reducing risk and increasing resilience in establishing an integrated intersectional QTBIPOC identity. For example, community connectedness (connectedness to local LGBT community) positively predicted higher identity cohesion and identity-based growth. These findings can provide insights for mental health clinicians to find nuanced ways of helping QTBIPOC achieve a protective integrated identity status. Keywords: identity cohesion, identity-based growth, resilience, QTBIPOC, intersectionalit
Utilization of a single preferred AAC system in US schools
Get PDFThe use of a single preferred communication book, board, app, or device across a school or district is a frequent topic on social media. The purposes of this study were to determine: (1) When a single system is adopted by a school or district, how does frequency of input from stakeholders compare to when a single system is not used; (2) When a single system is used, are data collected; and (3) When a single system is adopted, are criteria specified and what criteria are used to determine which students receive which levels of support? A link to an online survey was shared with professionals providing AAC services in schools. Out of 221 respondents, 17.19% reported using a single system. Those who reported using a single system were statistically less likely to involve other professionals, families, and the student in the decision-making process. Only 28.9% reported always collecting ongoing data, 23.7% reported always having clearly defined criteria for success, and 18.4% reported always having clearly defined criteria for further evaluation. Qualitative themes suggest use of trial and error, clinical judgement, and lack of success are often being used to make decisions about device selection in lieu of data
Potential Impact of Increased Global Warming on the Hydroclimatology of Central Africa during the twenty-first Century
Get PDFAfrica is highly susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change, particularly changes in hydroclimatic conditions. Assessing the impacts that could be reduced by limiting global warming is therefore crucial to strengthening adaptation to climate change, especially in Central Africa, known for its rich biodiversity along with the diversity of its ecosystems. In that perspective, the purpose of the present study is to assess the projected impact of increased global warming on the hydroclimatology of Central Africa, based on an ensemble-mean of high-resolution regional climate model (RCM) simulations from the Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluations integrated into the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX-CORE). One of the novelties of this research lies in its methodological strength, utilizing state-of-the-art RCM outputs to firstly investigate on the projected changes in some key hydroclimatic variables (e.g., precipitation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration, soil moisture and surface runoff), under two representative concentration pathways scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) during the near and far future. Results reveal that an increase in radiative forcing to the higher RCP8.5 scenario, could induce a robust increase of up to about 3 °C in temperature toward the end of the twenty-first century. This would contribute to a moderate decrease of around 30% in the precipitation regime, coupled with a stronger decrease in surface runoff over southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), northern Angola and eastern Zambia. Moreover, under the effect of increased global warming from the RCP2.6 to the RCP8.5 scenario, some countries such as Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, DRC and Sudan would experience a significant increase of up to 26% in potential evapotranspiration, coupled with a significant decrease of up to 40% in soil moisture, which is likely to exacerbate water stress and drought conditions. Results also showed that limiting global warming to the lower RCP2.6 scenario, would avoid an expansion of up to 25% in the spatial extent of areas characterised by drier climatic conditions, which would have major implications for ecosystems, agriculture and water availability in the affected countries. The insights provided by this research therefore contribute to ongoing efforts to improve our understanding on the potential impacts of global warming on the hydroclimatology of an under-studied subregion such as Central Africa
Unseen Connections: A StoryMap Exploring Case Studies in Water-Energy Transitions and Environmental Justice
Get PDFAn energy balance climate model for Mars represented by 4002 Goldberg polyhedrals with applications to ground ice re-distribution driven by obliquity cycles
Get PDFWe have developed a surface energy balance model for Mars based on representing the surface of Mars with a Goldberg polyhedral of 4002 cells. The approach using discretization of space with Goldberg polygons made it possible not only to obtain homogeneous spatial resolution but also the absence of a singularity at the poles in the model. In addition to the radiation terms, the surface energy balance includes CO2 condensation and evaporation, the diffusive exchange of heat between cells, heat exchange with the subsurface, and a representation of the large-scale transport of heat from the equator to pole. We validate the model by comparing model results to the Viking lander temperature and pressure data. The model results are within 10% in both temperature and pressure compared to both Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers. We also compare to current Mars GCMs. Our baseline model has a total exchangeable CO2 mass equivalent to 700 Pa and a mean annual surface temperature of 215.9 K. We use the baseline model to investigate the effects of changes in obliquity on climate. With all other model parameters held constant we find that as the obliquity increases above ∼30° the mean annual vapor density of ground ice at the poles becomes greater than at the equator implying a net transfer of water from pole to equator. We also find there is 95% consistency with the MCD model in CO2 ice formation. The Mars polyhedral model has high spatial resolution but is still computationally efficient and can be used to simulate a variety of processes on Mars, at present or in past and future epochs
Orientation-independent bubble trap with internal partition for robust operation of microfluidic systems
Get PDFA new monolithic bubble trap has been developed with a unique, orientation-independent design. The bubble trap has a spherical cavity and a central partition with internal passages that eliminate air bubbles effectively for extended periods of time. Flow testing was performed in a closed-loop microfluidic system to demonstrate effectiveness and robustness of the bubble trap. Flow rate was continually monitored on a stationary benchtop and also in simulated microgravity conditions on a 3-D random positioning machine. Data collected from flow sensors placed fore and aft of the bubble trap confirmed that randomly occurring bubbles were effectively eliminated by the trap throughout 24 hour closed-loop perfusion tests. To highlight the orientation-independent benefit of the bubble trap in a specific application of interest, continuous-flow experiments were conducted using human umbilical vein endothelial cells in a closed-loop microfluidic system. The bubble trap successfully protected the integrity of confluent layers that otherwise suffered from cell detachment without the trap. Image analysis showed that random orientation reduced directional alignment of cell nuclei, relative to baseline experiments performed under normal gravity
Modeling of Precipitation over Africa: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects
Get PDFIn recent years, there has been an increasing need for climate information across diverse sectors of society. This demand has arisen from the necessity to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate variability and change. Likewise, this period has seen a significant increase in our understanding of the physical processes and mechanisms that drive precipitation and its variability across different regions of Africa. By leveraging a large volume of climate model outputs, numerous studies have investigated the model representation of African precipitation as well as underlying physical processes. These studies have assessed whether the physical processes are well depicted and whether the models are fit for informing mitigation and adaptation strategies. This paper provides a review of the progress in precipitation simulation over Africa in state-of-the-science climate models and discusses the major issues and challenges that remain
Global Tracking of Marine Megafauna Space Use Reveals How to Achieve Conservation Targets
Get PDFThe recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of threatened species will be achieved. We assembled a multi-taxa tracking dataset (11 million geopositions from 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species) to provide a global assessment of space use of highly mobile marine megafauna, showing that 63% of the area that they cover is used 80% of the time as important migratory corridors or residence areas. The GBF 30% threshold (Target 3) will be insufficient for marine megafauna’s effective conservation, leaving important areas exposed to major anthropogenic threats. Coupling area protection with mitigation strategies (e.g., fishing regulation, wildlife-traffic separation) will be essential to reach international goals and conserve biodiversity
Uncovering Xenoestrogenic Effects of BPA and 15 BPA Alternatives Through Transcriptomics
No full textBisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used environmental chemical known to disrupt hormonal regulation. Structurally similar BPA substitutes, often assumed safer, may cause comparable endocrine disruptions. This study analyzes TempO-Seq data from MCF-7 cells exposed to BPA and 15 BPA alternatives using a Nextflow pipeline, assessing transcriptional effects on cellular and estrogen signaling pathways. Estrogenicity is further evaluated by analyzing the transcriptional responses of genes in an ER biomarker gene set. Results reveal non-monotonic, dose-dependent regulation of estrogenic and proliferative pathways, with BPA, BPAF, and BPC showing the strongest activity at 5–10 M. ER biomarker activation also occurs across multiple bisphenols, though at higher doses than required for estradiol. BPA, BPAF, and BPC consistently emerge as the most potent xenoestrogens. These findings emphasize the importance of increased regulatory scrutiny of BPA analogs and highlight the limitations of traditional high-dose models in capturing low-dose, non-monotonic endocrine effects
Developing an Integrated Risk Assessment Framework to Quantify the Resilience of Critical Railway Infrastructure: Characterization of Risks and Hazards to the U.S. Rail Network Through Empirical Data and Past Events
Get PDFTo improve understanding of the impact of natural hazards on the U.S. railway system, this project developed a comprehensive, geospatially precise dataset that maps historical hazard events to specific rail segments. The project provides insight into when, where, and how much damage natural hazards have inflicted on rail infrastructure across the country. While a rail-specific hazard database did not previously exist, this research combines data from the Geological Survey (USGS) Flood Events Database, Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC), the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast zones. Using accident cause codes (e.g., T002 for flood-related track damage and T109 for sun kinks) and the external hazard data, the researchers were able to estimate both the location and economic cost of damage. Findings revealed that from 2000 to 2023, certain hazard-linked derailments caused millions in track damage—85 million from extreme heat events (T109). This work lays the foundation for a national rail-hazard damage database, one that can be enhanced with industry-provided operational data. By linking hazard intensity with economic impact, the study offers critical data to inform further research as well as policymakers, planners, and industry leaders looking to improve the resilience of the U.S. rail network in the face of a changing climate and growing hazard exposure