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Racial/ethnic differences in the associations between social support and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
No full textThis article was originally published in BMC Public Health. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21141-0.
© The Author(s) 2024.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Background
Despite the established link between social support and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, few studies have examined racial/ethnic variation in these associations. This study utilized data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) to investigate racial/ethnic differences in perceived social support and in the link between support and incident hard CVD events and mortality.
Method
Participants (N = 6,814) were 45–84 years of age who identified as White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Chinese without known clinical CVD at baseline (2000–2002). Racial/ethnic differences in perceived support (overall, emotional, informational, and instrumental) were tested using multiple regression with adjustments for demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle/psychosocial, and clinical risk factors, and immigration history. Racial/ethnic differences in the association between perceived support and incident CVD events or mortality were tested using Cox proportional hazards models with progressive adjustments for the same covariates.
Results
At baseline, the mean age was 62.15 years (SD = 10.23); 38.5% identified as White, 27.8% as Black, 22.0% as Hispanic/Latino, and 11.8% as Chinese. Black and Hispanic/Latino participants reported higher levels of overall support, emotional support, and informational support than White participants (p’s < 0.05). Chinese participants reported less informational support (p = .010) than White participants. Higher informational support was associated with decreased risk for hard CVD events. This association did not differ by race/ethnic group.
Conclusion
Despite racial/ethnic differences in perceptions of support, perceived informational support was protective against CVD for participants of all racial/ethnic backgrounds.JN, TF, and MA received funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/) T32HL079891. NK received funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K24HL155897. The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) was supported by grants 75N92020D00001, HHSN268201500003I, N01-HC-95159, 75N92020D00005, N01-HC-95160, 75N92020D00002, N01-HC-95161, 75N92020D00003, N01-HC-95162, 75N92020D00006, N01-HC-95163, 75N92020D00004, N01-HC-95164, 75N92020D00007, N01-HC-95165, N01-HC-95166, N01-HC-95167, N01-HC-95168 and N01-HC-95169 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and by grants UL1-TR-000040, UL1-TR-001079, and UL1-TR-001420 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Creation and application of tools for probing cell functions in wound healing and disease processes
No full textKloxin, April M.Fibrosis is a class of diseases driven by the persistent activation of fibroblasts, where this persistence contributes to excess deposition and crosslinking of collagen, stiffening of tissue, and can lead to organ disfunction and death. The most common type of lung fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), is a disease with uncertain etiology that is responsible for over 50,000 deaths each year in the US alone, where 80% of patients die within 5 years of diagnosis. While two FDA approved treatments, pirfenidone and nintedanib, modestly slow disease progression, a substantial number have failed in the pre-clinical or clinical pipeline, highlighting a need for additional understanding of disease mechanisms to improve identification of novel therapeutics. Human in vitro models of fibrosis complement in vivo animal models for both hypothesis testing and drug evaluation. However, a challenge remains in understanding the dynamics of human fibroblast responses to complex microenvironment stimuli, motivating the need for more advanced tools to investigate these mechanisms. This work aimed to 1) investigate fibroblast activation in novel synthetic hydrogel culture models mimetic of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and 2) establish approaches for assessing the temporal dynamics of these responses using genetically-encoded fluorescent reporters, with broader implications for probing a range of cell-microenvironment interactions. ☐ While there are many in vitro culture approaches for investigating cellular mechanisms, synthetic hydrogels are particularly advantageous due to their modularity and the library of chemistries that can be used to achieve a wide range of mechanical properties such as substrate stiffness and viscoelasticity, impart biochemical moieties such as integrin binding sequences and degradable crosslinks, and integrate fibrous structures that can mimic aspects of the ECM. As this library of synthetic approaches expands, it becomes critical to choose a model system that is best suited for testing the hypothesis at hand. We first investigated the utility of three hydrogel geometries for studying fibroblast activation in response to microenvironmental cues, where cell shape and polarity were hypothesized to drive differences in cell response. Transitioning to a hydrogel composition with dynamic covalent boronic-acid based chemistry, we demonstrated that self-healing hydrogels could be utilized to create unique co-cultures for investigating interactions between breast cancer and fibroblasts, where this viscoelastic material allowed for migration and proliferation in the absence of degradable moieties. Finally, with the goal of investigating fibroblast response to materials mimicking the collagen structure of fibrotic lung tissue, we encapsulated lung fibroblasts in hydrogels with covalently incorporated collagen mimetic peptides and found that the imparted fibrillar structure influenced fibroblast elongation and spreading, better mimicking their native spindle-like morphology seen in vivo. ☐ As tools expand for recapitulating these complex cell-matrix interactions in vitro, we need increasingly sophisticated methods to measure the dynamics of cell response to these microenvironmental cues. Genetically-encoded fluorescent reporters present an opportunity for implementing into human cell populations non-destructive assessments of dynamic cell response with single cell and temporal resolution that many traditional end-point assays do not provide. Towards studying fibrosis, we established robust methods for the implementation of a lentiviral-based dual-fluorescence system that reports on alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA), a well-accepted indicator of fibroblast activation. Specifically, we first optimized protocols for lentivirus production with high titer and for high efficiency transduction to create a library of human lung fibroblast reporter cell lines. For this library, three versions of the reporter were utilized, where for each version, the fluorescent protein was modified to exhibit a different temporal stability, providing temporal resolution of protein expression processes over a range of timescales. ☐ Using this library, we demonstrated that reporters provide insights into population shifts in response to both mechanical and biochemical cues that are not detectable by traditional end-point assessments. Further, with these methods, individual cell tracks can also be considered and isolated, highlighting opportunities for complementary measurements such as FACS and single cell RNA sequencing. Establishment of this reporter toolset enables dynamic cell investigations that can be translated into more complex synthetic culture environments for elucidating disease mechanisms and evaluating therapeutics for lung fibrosis and other challenging diseases more broadly.University of Delaware, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringPh.D
The Maker Space Pants: Size Range Design using the Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic Needs Model
No full textThis article was originally published in International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18823.
© 2024 The author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The purpose of this undergraduate summer fellow project was to investigate the user-needs for Maker Pants at a U.S. eastern university and design a solution that will specifically address safety as well as all functional, aesthetic and expressive user- needs. The results suggest that, within the Maker Space user pool, each size has slightly different design needs regarding functionality and fit. Proportionally grading the design details up and down in size does not meet the short size user-needs appropriately, an issue that becomes imperative in the case of safety features. This study expands the range of scholarship using the FEA framework, highlighting how the functional apparel design process for multiple sized items needs iterative evaluations and a large pool of users for each size created. These results could be used by apparel designers to improve the functionality of large scale sized functional apparel
Effect of natural dyes on the sensitivity of knitted strain sensors
No full textThis article was originally published in International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18819.
© 2024 The author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Soft gloves with incorporated strain sensors for wrist flexion monitoring have been proposed as an aid to the physiotherapists assisting stroke patients with their hand rehabilitation exercises. Most of the reported strain sensor testing methods only involve unidirectional fabric tensile tests, but in actual applications, when sensors are on a knitted glove, the fabric is subject to complex multidirectional stretching. The purpose of this study was to investigate how natural dyes affect the sensing performance of a knitted strain sensor seamlessly integrated into a fingerless glove, aimed at detecting wrist flexing motions.The results show that natural dyes improve the knit sensor performance by affecting its strain, except for the sensors made using 100% baby alpaca fibers. The fiber composition clearly influences the sensitivity after dyeing, and osage dye is less effective than the logwood dye, except for the sensors made with 100% bamboo yarn
ReSpool: An Approach to Scaling a Circular System for Textile Recycling and Sustainable Textile Innovation Through Convergence Research
No full textThis article was originally published in International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18909.
© 2024 The author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The fashion industry significantly contributes to environmental degradation, accounting for 8-10% of global CO2 emissions and 20% of industrial water pollution. With over 100 million tons of textile waste generated annually, the need for systemic change in production and consumption is urgent. ReSpool offers a scalable, circular approach to textile recycling and sustainable innovation through transdisciplinary convergence research. Leveraging regional ecosystems, the initiative partners with academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to transform post-consumer fashion waste into valuable products.
Over the past year, ReSpool established partnerships across the Delaware Valley and Upper Midwest regions, including with Goodwill Industries and sustainable textile innovators. The team developed groundbreaking technologies such as a Fiber Shredder for creating reusable fibers and prototyped processes for manufacturing woven and nonwoven textiles. Through stakeholder interviews, design thinking methodologies, and user feedback, ReSpool refined processes, preparing for further testing and commercial applications. This research underscores the potential of regional collaboration
Potassium Sulfate Supplementation with Elevated Electrical Conductivity Was Unproductive for Hydroponic Strawberry at the Original Yamazaki Nutrient Solution Nitrogen Level
No full textThis article was originally published in HortScience. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18252-24.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).The production of strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa) in hydroponic systems has been increasing. In hydroponic systems, precise nutrient management is crucial for optimal plant growth and fruit production. Among essential elements, potassium (K) is a key nutrient that affects fruit yield and quality in fruiting crops. The objective of this study was to investigate whether increasing the K concentration in the Yamazaki strawberry nutrient solution could enhance plant growth, fruit yield, and fruit quality in hydroponic strawberries. Bare-root plants of strawberry ‘Monterey’ and ‘San Andreas’ were planted in a deep water culture hydroponic system and grown with initial K concentrations of 117, 194, 271, and 348 mg·L−1 under the same initial nitrogen concentration of 77 mg·L−1. As the K concentration increased from 117 to 348 mg·L−1, the nutrient solution electrical conductivity increased from 1.0 to 1.9 dS·m−1. The experiment was conducted inside an indoor vertical farm at a 23 °C air temperature with an extended photon flux density (400–750 nm) of 350 µmol·m−2·s−1 under an 18-hour photoperiod. Increasing the K concentration from 117 to 348 mg·L−1 had minimal effects on plant growth characteristics of both cultivars, although root dry mass of ‘Monterey’ increased linearly with increasing K. Increasing the K concentration from 117 to 348 mg·L−1 did not affect the total fruit number or total fruit fresh mass of ‘Monterey’, but for ‘San Andreas’, it reduced the total fruit number by 34% and total fruit fresh mass by 45%. Additionally, increasing the K concentration from 117 to 348 mg·L−1 reduced the individual fruit mass, fruit length, and fruit diameter and increased titratable acidity in both cultivars. These results indicate that increasing the K concentration in the Yamazaki strawberry nutrient solution did not benefit plant growth, fruit yield, or fruit quality of the hydroponically grown strawberries ‘Monterey’ or ‘San Andreas’.This research was funded by the North American Strawberry Grower Association, the City of Phoenix Agri-Food Tech Innovation Grant, and start-up funds from the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University.
We thank Nicholas Barnette, Katherine Hurd, Bella DeLorenzo, Luke Marens, and Riana Burns (Arizona State University) for their experimental assistance and Dr. Cynthia Sagers (Arizona State University) for valuable input regarding this manuscript
Backward Bunny
No full textThis article was originally published in International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18822.
© 2024 The author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This project aimed to provide non-binary individuals with an outfit designed for enjoying nightlife confidently, reflecting a key aspect of Gen-Z culture and social interaction. Each garment piece was designed to show or hint at the body underneath the garment while distorting the silhouette in a different way. The outfit drew inspiration from the sea bunny, a miniature, fluffy, hermaphrodite sea slug, blurring the lines of gender-specific fashion and showcasing sustainable design principles. With this ensemble, the body is the highlight, and the use of bright yellows was meant to both draw the eye towards details as well as communicate awareness. This ensemble stands out for its unique approach to gender-fluid fashion, combining innovative design techniques with sustainable practices. The reversible pants and knit top offer versatility rarely seen in traditional fashion, while using natural dyes and recycled materials highlights a commitment to fashion sustainability
Neuroimaging Findings for the Overnight Consolidation of Learned Non-native Speech Sounds
No full textThis article was originally published in Neurobiology of Language. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/nol_a_00157.
© 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For a full description of the license, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.Research over the past two decades has documented the importance of sleep to language learning. Sleep has been suggested to play a role in establishing new speech representations as well; however, the neural mechanisms corresponding to sleep-mediated effects on speech perception behavior are unknown. In this study, we trained monolingual English-speaking adults to perceive differences between the Hindi dental vs. retroflex speech contrast in the evening. We examined the blood oxygen level dependent signal using functional magnetic resonance imaging during perceptual tasks on both the trained talker and on an untrained talker shortly after training, and again the next morning. We also employed diffusion tensor imaging to determine if individual differences in white matter structure could predict variability in overnight consolidation. We found greater activity in cortical regions associated with language processing (e.g., left insula) on the second day. Fractional anisotropy values in the anterior thalamic radiation and the uncinate fasciculus were associated with the magnitude of overnight change in perceptual behavior on the generalization (untrained) talker, after controlling for differences in sleep duration and initial learning. Our findings suggest that speech-perceptual information is subject to an overnight transfer of information to the cortex. Moreover, neural structure appears to be linked to individual differences in efficiency of overnight consolidation.Emily B. Myers, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (https://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000055), Award ID: R01DC013064. Emily B. Myers, National Science Foundation, Award ID: BCS 1554810. F. Sayako Earle, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (https://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000055), Award ID: F31 DC014194. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (https://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009633), Award ID: P01 HD001994. F. Sayako Earle, American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (https://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100002607), Award ID: New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship
Single-Step Fabrication of a 3D Stretchable Inductor with Multi-jet Modeling Printing Technology
No full textThis article was originally published in Advanced Materials Technologies. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202401601.
© 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Materials Technologies published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The development of flexible and stretchable electronic devices is crucial for advanced electronics, which necessitate inductors with stable performance under deformation. This work presents the fabrication of stretchable polymeric matrices for 3D inductors through a single-step method via additive manufacturing. A multi-jet modeling (MJM) type 3D printer is used to print a stretchable and rigid hybrid matrix by leveraging the features of high-resolution and multi-component printing techniques. Owing to the presence of access channels designed in multiple directions, the coil channel shows a clean and smooth surface with uniformity. A room-temperature liquid metal, the eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) alloy, is encapsulated in the designated channels without any leakage under mechanical deformation. Electrical performance tests demonstrate that the MJM-printed solenoid and toroid inductors maintain stable performance under bending and stretching deformations, which is suitable for soft electronic applications. Additionally, a flexible helical structured inductor is fabricated and tested as a wireless power receiver inductor. It generated an output voltage of more than 10 V, sufficient to power a red LED light bulb. These results highlight the simplicity and effectiveness of multi-jet 3D printing for fabricating a stretchable and rigid hybrid matrix for the inductors at once, with excellent mechanical deformability and electrical performance
Creating a Softer RoboSquid: Liquid-Metal-Based Compliant Pumps for Pulsed Jet Propulsion
No full textThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: J. D. Cortazar, N. Lazarus, Creating a Softer RoboSquid: Liquid-Metal-Based Compliant Pumps for Pulsed Jet Propulsion. Adv. Mater. Technol. 2025, 2401372. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202401372 , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202401372. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
This article will be embargoed until 02/28/2026.Soft pumps are a crucial element in biology, from our own hearts to actuators driving the motion of many creatures in nature. For example, the squid is one of the fastest and most powerful animals in the ocean despite being almost entirely soft, using controlled jets by compressing an internal chamber to propel itself rapidly through the water. Duplicating this performance in an artificial system has, however, remained challenging. Here, a novel soft electromagnetic pump based on using coils of room temperature LM (liquid metal) to drive a permanent magnet piston is demonstrated and used to propel a squid-inspired vehicle. Liquid gallium alloys in silicone tubing are used to manufacture a stretchable electromagnet which is then integrated into a silicone bubble and used to actuate an attached permanent magnet. The robosquid here was able to achieve as high as 4.53 cm s−1 (0.65 body lengths/s) and 9.52 cm s−1 (1.38 body lengths/s) average and peak speed respectively, competitive with current squid inspired vehicles integrating rigid motors and actuators. This result is a major milestone in creating high performance pumps for soft robotics, and will enable superior performance of future soft underwater vehicles leveraging biological principles